Thomas and the Tugs
by Frankthetriviaman
Summary: When the Star Tugs and Marine Company goes bankrupt, the Star Tugs are given a second chance. They get a new home on a small island just off the coast of England, where they meet some new faces, and are reunited with some old ones too. Find out what happens when the two worlds David Mitton brought to life come together in... Thomas and the Tugs.
1. At Brendham Docks

It was a beautiful Summer Day on the island of Sodor, and all over the island engines and machines alike were working their hardest. On the Ffarquhar line, Thomas, Toby and Daisy were busy handling passenger duties, while Percy was pulling a freight train. On the main line, Gordon, Henry and James were handling the summer crowds from Tidmouth to Vickerstown, while Bear was pulling a freight train to Barrow-in-Furness. On the Little Western, Duck and Oliver were busy pulling their auto-coaches up and down the line, while Donald and Douglas handled freight duties. Over on the Brendham branch, Edward was handling passenger duties, while BoCo was taking a freight train to Tidmouth. Bill and Ben were hard at work in the clay pits and Salty and Porter were busy shunting in Brendham Docks. Everything was quiet until disaster struck.

A cargo ship was coming in a few knots too fast, but it was a few knots enough that the crew soon lost control of the ship. As it turned in to line up with the dock, it ended up running into and crushing part of the dock. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, but this section had sustained severe damage, and the it appeared that the ship's integrity was compromised.

The Harbormaster was cross "Sir Topham Hatt is not going to like this... this shipment is supposed to go out in an hour." Hatt arrived as soon as he received word that this shipment was going to be delayed.

"This isn't your fault Harbormaster; that boat captain should have known better than to come in so fast."

The boat captain, furious, approached the Harbormaster and Sir Topham Hatt " Are you kidding me? Of course this is all your fault! If there were tugboats at this harbor like every other major Harbor in the world, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

The Harbormaster was cross. "Now look here captain, we both know you came in too fast..."

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a cargo ship that long do such tight turns to line up with the harbor? Its not easy! We always gotta come in fast on this harbor because the faster you go, the faster you turn. With tugboats however, all it takes is some pulling and pushing and the ships are in place."

The Harbormaster sighed "we will see what we can do. In the mean time we will arrange for temporary lodging for your crew while the ship is repaired." As the captain walked away, the harbormaster confided in Sir Topham Hatt "I regret to say it, but he has a point... we need tugboats in this harbor."

But as chance would have it, a young man approached them, and came forward with the answer he was looking for "excuse me sir, but did you say you need Tugboats?"

The harbormaster looked at him. "yes, I did. Can I help you?"

"Actually, I can help you. You see, years ago my Great-grandfather was captain of a whole fleet of tugs. He passed away some time back and left me his fleet. They are in need of repairs, but I can sell you them at a discounted price."

The Harbormaster smiled at his fortune. "All right, I'll hear you out. Please come into my office Mr..."

"Star. Roger Star."


	2. The Meeting

10 minutes later, Roger Star and the harbormaster were sitting in the harbormaster's office. "Well Mr. Star, tell me more about these tugboats you have." Roger Star smiled "They may be old, but you couldn't ask for more efficient, hardworking tugs sir. In fact, they are not so different from the engines that work on this island." He pulled out some pictures of the tugs. "It is a small fleet, based out of Bigg City in America."

The Harbormaster thought back "Bigg City...Bigg City... oh, I know that place. We've actually purchased a few things from them in the past." He pointed out the window to a crane. "See that over there? That crane we purchased and repaired from Bigg City port not too long after an incident involving a ship. Roger Star certainly was surprised "so THIS is where Big Mickey ended up. Great grandpa told me about him when I was a kid."

The harbormaster was surprised too "he has a name? I never realized; truth be told all the years we've had him he's never said a word. Wonder why?" Roger Star thought for a second, then shook it off. "What else have you bought?"

"Some barges, but they're hardly used. There's this garbage barge a private owner bought many years ago, but he died in a car accident about a month after the barge arrived, so it has been sitting abandoned ever since. That one, over there" again gesturing towards the window. There's also this pair of railroad barges we bought around the same time, but we couldn't quite figure out what to do with them. So they sit over there in that part of the harbor. And the last thing I can think of is this private owner that bought a lightship and fire tug from Bigg City a few years decades back; but after he died his children weren't interested, so they've been left to rust on that dock ever since."

"Glad to hear it... I mean, at least they weren't scrapped. So, would you like to see pictures of the tugs?"

The harbormaster nodded. He found himself looking at old pictures of the tugs in their prime, and newer pictures of them in a private dock. Much of the paint was gone, and some of the tugs were partially sunk, with one beached. But in a dry-dock adjacent to the tugs was a submarine.

"I see seven tugs and... a submarine?"

Roger Star smiled "you are correct; but we will get to him in a moment. Let me introduce you to the Star Tugs. In the 1920s they were the pride of Bigg City Port. This little fellow over here still afloat is Ten Cents. He's what's called a switcher in the business. He's still afloat, but his engine is in need of repairs and he needs fresh paint. Otherwise though, he's solid." Then he gestured to another ship; this one sunk, but the superstructure was above the water still. "This is Big Mac; he's a harbor tug. He may be a bit underwater now, but give him repairs, and he'll be a hard worker." Then he turned to another ship. This one was at a 50 degree list to port, but his face/bridge was still visible above the waterline. "This here is O.J.; another harbor tug.

The Harbormaster took a closer look "are those...paddle-wheels?"

"Yes they are, but don't be fooled; give him the necessary repairs, and he is good to go. To be honest, he's broken down fewer times than Big Mac and Ten Cents put together." Then he pointed to another tug, this one wearing a top hat and monocle, half sunk, but higher in the water than Big Mac. "This here is Top Hat. He's a railway tug that's meant to work with railway barges, but he can also do harbor tug work. Give him the repairs he needs and he'll be fine. He may be arrogant from time to time, but as long as you are firm with him, he'll be a hard worker." Then he pointed to another tug. Like Ten Cents, this one was still above water. "This one here is Warrior, Big Mac's brother. He's a Harbor tug as well; Like Ten Cents he's also afloat and just needs repairs. With some new paint and an engine, he's good to go." Then he pointed to the largest tug of them all. It was on its side, but in such a way that the face/bridge was still above water. "This here is Hercules, he's an ocean tug. A nasty storm put him on his side several years ago, but he's still solid. He's the only tug that can go out into the ocean, so he's your tug when it comes to rescue missions and the like." Then he pointed to one tug that was beached. "This little guy here is Sunshine. He's a switcher like Ten Cents."

"Why is he out of the water?" The harbormaster asked.

"A childish prank several years back blew a 20 foot hole in his hull... the police are still trying to figure out what happened." Roger explained. Then at last, they got to the submarine. "This here is Grampus. He's the last of his class, and very historically significant. My great-grandfather saved him from disposal when he was decommissioned. For a sub, he can actually be really useful. Thing is, his engine blew years back, and there was no money to mend it. Just give him new paint and an engine, he's good to go."

The harbormaster looked everything over. "There is one catch though." Star said. "You have to take all of them, even Grampus. They are like a family to one another, and I have refused many offers on my Great-grandfather's behalf just to keep the family together." The harbormaster thought it over "Very well; but there is something I need to know."

"What is it?" Roger asked.

"How did the pride of Bigg City become a fleet of Half-sunken ships?"

Roger began tearing up "It's... quite the story..."/p


	3. Falling Stars

Author's note: Hi everyone, here is chapter three. Please note this chapter will be a little sad, but I promise, after this things will get better from here on out. Also note: the Chief Fire Tug did not have a name in TUGS, so I named him Samuel in this story. Without further ado, here is Thomas and the Tugs, Chapter three. Don't forget to leave a review!

It was late October, 1929. For several years Bigg City port was the largest, busiest port on the Eastern United States. Their competition with the Z-Stacks, although bitter at times, was also one of the things that kept the harbor running; competition was healthy for business, after all.

Many friends and enemies had been made over the years. One day though, the life the Tugs knew began to change for good.

At the Star Dock, Ten Cents and Sunshine the Switchers, O.J., Big Mac and Warrior the Harbor Tugs, Top Hat the railway Tug, Hercules the Ocean Tug and Grampus the Submarine had all assembled, waiting for their jobs to be assigned.

"What's taking Captain Star so long? It's not like him to be running late." Sunshine asked.

"Give him time Sunshine, Captain Star is a very busy man." Ten Cents reminded him.

"Aye, who knows how much work is pouring in if even he is running late." Big Mac added.

Finally, the familiar megaphone peaked out the window of Star Headquarters.

"Good morning Captain Star! What work is assigned for us today?" Ten Cents asked

"Will I be taking the garbage today?" Warrior asked.

"Good morning Tugs. I apologize for running late, but there is a bit of a problem."

"Oh, we don't mind the last minute orders. More work means more money" Big Mac said.

"No, I'm afraid its quite the opposite today. I've been on the phone nonstop for about an hour or so. I'm afraid every contract for the day has been cancelled." Captain Star informed the tugs.

"WHAT!" The Star Tugs collectively gasped.

"Yes, I'm afraid its so. A few days ago the stock market crashed, and now orders are being cancelled so fast there are none coming in. I am sorry tugs, but there is no work today."

"Not even garbage?" Warrior asked.

"I was surprised, but yes Warrior, not even garbage."

"Oh dear. First the railway has troubles, after that bridge collapsed and The Goods Engine lost, now we are losing contracts." Hercules observed.

"But sir! What of our crews!?" Ten Cents asked

"I'll still pay you for the day, but I'm afraid for now, you'll have to stay in dock." Star said.

Captain Star's megaphone disappeared as he went back into his office, and the tugs started to go back to dock.

"Cheer up everyone; this is just a slow down; surely things will pick up in due time." Grampus assured. But little did he know this was just the beginning. Bigg City's Golden age was slowly coming to an end. The port would never be the same again.

Over the next few days, the harbor was quieter than usual. Work was limited and surprisingly infrequent. Warrior still took the garbage out on occasion, Top Hat still brought railway cars around the harbor with Frank and Eddie, and Ten Cents and Sunshine did odd jobs here and there, but the tugs were finding themselves running out of work.

One day, an ocean going ship was heading out, he had the remains of a crane strapped down to the top.

Ten Cents was the first to notice "Oy! You there, where you taking that? That's Big Mickey!" He called out.

"Some island off the coast of England; he's quite lucky you know, the dock wouldn't take him back so it was either this or the scrapyard." The vessel replied.

Ten Cents was sad, but at least Big Mickey would be saved. "Well, goodbye old friend." Ten Cents said as the vessel steamed out of port.

The Star tugs may have been having problems, but not to far away, the Z-stacks had it even worse.

"This is unacceptable! How could you have only had five contracts in the last 17 days?!" Captain Zero screamed at his tugs angrily.

"Its not our fault captain, there hasn't been much coming in since the stock market crashed" Zak said.

"Yeah, you cant do a contract if there isn't one to begin with!" Zorran added

"What little work there is, it usually is little things the Star Tugs already had contracts in place." Zug finished.

"I don't care how you do it! Just get out there and get more work!" Captain Zero shouted back.

"Yes sir!" The Z-stacks shouted back as they puffed out, if anything more afraid than angry... who knows what Captain Zero would do to them.

Several months passed, and by March 1930 the Tugs began to notice something. Many of the small boats seen frequently around the harbor in the past had disappeared.

"Hey Captain Star, what happened to the Shrimpers?" Big Mac asked one day.

"The market collapse seems to have affected more than just Wall Street Big Mac; people aren't buying as much as they used to and that includes shrimp. The local companies went broke and the shrimpers have gone to find work elsewhere." Captain Star said. That night as the tugs settled into the Star Docks, they got some more sad news.

"hello star tugs." a voice said as the tugs suddenly found themselves wide awake.

"Ugh, who's bothering us at this hour?" Top Hat complained.

"Sorry about that, I hope you don't mind." As he and another tug came into full view.

"Oh, hello Sea Rogue, and to your uncle too." Ten Cents said.

"What brings you around here?" O.J. asked.

"Actually, we've come to say goodbye." Sea Rogue's Uncle said.

"WHAT?" There was a collective gasp.

"Why?" Ten Cents asked.

"Our owners have gone broke, so we've been sold to another owner elsewhere. We're going to become houseboats like Boomer up river." Sea Rouge's Uncle said.

"But it sure beats getting sent to the scrapyards." Sea Rogue added

"What do you mean?" Warrior asked.

"You haven't heard? The crash has affected more companies than you realize. Nantucket, Old Rusty, even Princess Alice, they've all been sold to the scrappers."

"PRINCESS ALICE!? SCRAP!?" The Star Tugs screamed in horror.

"What's all this yelling about?" Captain Star suddenly appeared in the window.

"It's terrible sir! The Princess Alice has been sold for scrap!" Ten Cents informed him.

He didn't speak for a few seconds. "I know tugs, I know. And it is a shame, but since people have less money, they are not traveling as much. This means Less passengers and less money for the ocean liner companies. No doubt, companies are going to be selling off their older ships first, and Princess Alice is older than Vienna and Duchess." Captain Star explained.

"That's right, because even when the economy is down, there is always a market for scrap." "That's right, ocean liners go broke, shrimpers go broke, but scrappers will always have plenty of business." Burke and Blair said as they sailed by.

"I think you have had enough bad news for one day. Go on tugs, get some sleep. Sea Rogue, you and your Uncle have a long journey ahead of you, perhaps you should go now." Captain Star said before going back into his office.

"Quite right. Well, goodbye my friends, thank you for everything." Sea Rogue said as he prepared to depart. "Come on Uncle, let's go."

The two ships steamed out of port, but all the tugs could think about was what was happening around them. "Poor Princess Alice. There's still hope though. Ships always end up sitting around for a while before they are actually broken down for scrap. So there is always a chance Alice will be bought by someone who will restore her" O.J. explained. It was a slim hope, but enough to relax the Star Tugs and help them fall asleep.

In August 1930, the Star Tugs were able to find a little more work thanks to a need for steel; in an attempt to revitalize the local economy Bigg City had started a couple public works projects to build some new buildings in order to create jobs.

One day, Warrior was pulling a load of Garbage with Lord Stinker, and Ten Cents and Sunshine were pulling a load of steel, when they saw Izzy Gomez being towed out of port by Zorran.

"Hey Zorran, how'd you do this time? Half-price or free?" Ten Cents joked as he passed them

"Why you little... I got full price this time! And darn lucky I did, cause chances are we're not going to see Izzy again."

"What?" Warrior said in shock.

"You can't be serious." Ten Cents said in disbelief.

"I'm afraid it's so. San Juan Bananas isn't doing so well, so to cut down the costs they're going to focus on local distribution and cut back international sales." Izzy explained.

The star Tugs realized this crash was really serious... it wasn't just the United States affected by the crash. "Well, goodbye Izzy." Ten Cents and Warrior said sad Zorran took him out to sea. On their way back to the Star Dock, Ten Cents and Sunshine saw Puffa backing into a siding. They had a few minutes and decided to say hello.

"Hello Puffa, what you doing here already? Doesn't the railway still have work?" Ten Cents asked.

"Not really Ten Cents. Ever since that bridge collapsed and we lost that goods engine, the Dock Railway been having a hard time. This bad economy has only made things worse, so the old owners are selling out and everything is changing." Puffa explained "they want to inspect every engine; they want to make cuts where ever they can. If an engine is deemed too unreliable, its the smelter's yard." Puffa elaborated.

"Oh dear. Good luck Puffa; a hard working engine like you still has some good years left." Sunshine said.

"I hope so." Puffa told them as the tugs steamed off.

It was December 1930, so frozen waterways meant even less work, even with the steel contracts. Ten Cents was delivering a fuel barge when Sunshine came steaming up to him.

"Ten Cents! It's terrible! There's been an accident up river!"

"Calm down Sunshine, what happened?" he asked

"last night some sailors had too much to drink, and they commandeered Billy; they ran him right aground!"

"No! Not Billy Shoepack too!" Ten Cents said in horror. "Can't they rescue him?" Ten Cents asked.

"Not with the rivers half frozen. Making matters worse, the sailors were drunk because a couple days ago Billy's owner died and his co-workers were "celebrating" if you will. With his owner dead there's no one to authorize payment to the salvage Company..."

"... so he's just going to be left there?" Ten Cents asked

"For now, at least. Hopefully someone will get him out when the river thaws." Sunshine said, hopefully.

An hour later, the little switchers were on their way back to Star Dock when they noticed something... Puffa hadn't left the siding in months, so they went to check on him.

"Puffa, what's wrong? Didn't you pass the inspection?" Ten Cents asked

Puffa sighed "its even worse than we first imagined. It turns out the arrangement to hand over ownership fell apart. Bigg City Dock Railway declared bankruptcy a few weeks ago."

"Does that mean..." Ten Cents asked sadly.

"Yes Ten Cents, the Dock Railway is no more. At least, until a new company puts a contract in with the City." Puffa explained.

So they said farewell, and Ten Cents and Sunshine later told the others.

"No more railway?" Top Hat asked in shock

"Afraid so. But Puffa said the City should be bringing in a new company to take over, so there is still hope." Ten Cents explained.

The years came and went at Bigg City. Work began to pick up again by 1934, but it wasn't anywhere near the activity the port saw in the the 1920s.

In March that year, Ten Cents was beginning to worry; not only had Shoepack never been rescued from his beaching, but Puffa was still in the siding. Although a new company had come in, they also brought the latest engines with them. "They've made me auxiliary; only to be used if another engine breaks down." He said sadly.

One day, the Star tugs were getting ready for the arrival of the Duchess; her owners had fared better in the depression than Princess Alice's, and she was still doing well. As the Stars waited for her, they heard a most unwelcome voice.

"ATTEEEENNNNTION!" Said the tug as it came near. The Star Tugs groaned in frustration. "Bluenose, now is NOT a good time." Big Mac said to him as he came near. "Yea, we already got orders, so get lost." Ten Cents added.

Bluenose just blew him off though. "Let me through! I am due to be outside Bigg City port by 1500 hours! My time has come and I am ready to meet my fate." He said has he made his way to the Harbor opening. The Star Tugs were too busy preparing for Duchess to pay any attention to him though. He passed Grampus on his way out to sea. "You got real lucky Grampus; but you should've done your duty like the rest of us" he sneered.

"At least I was lucky indeed... goodbye Bluenose; and send my brothers my regards." Grampus told him. Bluenose grunted as he went out to sea.

A few hours later, the Tugs had just finished bringing in the Duchess when they heard sirens blare just outside the harbor, followed by a series of loud booms.

"Looks like the Navy is having target practice again." O.J. observed.

It wasn't until later that night when Grampus finally told the others that Bluenose had volunteered for target practice. Though on the one hand, the tugs felt it was good riddance, on the other hand, they thought even he didn't deserve this fate.

A few docks over, the Z-stacks were getting a severe talking too from Captain Zero.

"This is most unacceptable! Only a few years ago, we were doing rather well for ourselves, but now we're only doing a bit better than breaking even! Get out there tomorrow and get more work!" Then the megaphone disappeared.

"He just doesn't seem to get it, does he? The harbor isn't what it used to be." Zebedee observed. The others spoke their agreement.

During the next few years, public work programs began to help revitalize Bigg City... but the port was facing problems. By 1940, a series of bridges and roads had sprung up. It was so efficient the railway had enormous trouble competing with it. Scuttlebutt Pete the dredger, Mighty Mo and Little Ditcher the floating cranes had been sold to the scrapyards... luckily, they were deemed to have more value intact than as scrap, so they were spared, and instead sold to various companies outside Bigg City. With the roads doing so good, trucks took over garbage and freight, practically eliminating the need for railway and garbage barges. And when garbage barges were needed, a newer, bigger barge had been brought in to replace Lord Stinker.

Warrior and Top Hat were off fulfill a lumber contract, when they saw something unusual; Frank, Eddie and Lord Stinker had been tied to a rather large cargo ship, and were heading out to sea.

"Hey, where are you taking those!?" Top Hat shouted to the ship. "I work with those railway barges!"

"And that's my favorite garbage barge!" Warrior followed up with.

"Sorry Top Hat, Warrior, but apparently this port doesn't need us anymore. We've been sold to that same Island off the coast of England as Big Mickey. Don't worry, we will be fine. At least we weren't sold for scrap. Goodbye Warrior!" Lord Stinker shouted

"Goodbye Top Hat!" Frank and Eddie shouted together as the ship continued to take them out to sea.

Top Hat and Warrior could only sigh as their long time companions were taken out to sea.

From 1941 to 1945, the economy recovered thanks to the war that had broken out. But Bigg City port was not doing so good. With so many men having left to join the Navy, civilian contracts became rare and infrequent. Both the Star Tugs and Z-Stacks were just barely breaking even.

In 1952, better lighthouses were built at certain points around the City, rendering lightships Obsolete. Hercules was there to see Lillie off.

"I'm sorry it has come to this Hercules, but my new owner is going to take good care of me." Lillie assured him. "There's no use for Lightships, so at least I will get a second life as a Museum ship." She told him. She sailed out to sea as Hercules whistled farewell.

"So long, my dear." He called out to her. Samuel the chief fire tug, along with the other fire tugs of Bigg City from the 20s, were sold to the scrapyards in favor of newer models. Though Samuel was saved by the same person who bought Lillie at the last minute, his companions were not so lucky.

Hercules later informed the Stars of the bad news

"She has been sold to someone on that island too; at least she will be safe." Hercules assured them.

But soon, it all came to an end. Since the war had ended, three new tug companies had sprung up in Bigg City. With their newer, fuel-burning ships, they proved to be more efficient to maintain than the coal-burning Z-stacks and Star Tugs.

In June 1954, both the Star Tugs Company and Z-Stacks ended up declaring bankruptcy. Captain Zero, due to rather shady dealings over the last 30 years, disappeared one day as the Z-stacks were waiting in port to see what would happen.

"Why that little... He's abandoned us!" Zorran realized

"That coward would rather disappear than face the consequences!" Zak added

"What's going to happen to us?" Zug asked.

"We'll be taking you." The Z-Stacks were shocked to see behind them that Burke and Blair were starting to cast lines on them. "Just before he left, Captain Zero sold you lot to the scrapyard; good money you are!" Burke said.

"Quite right; at least you lot get to stay together... for now." Blair added

"CAPTAIN ZERO! YOU DIRTY RAT!" Zorran yelled "When I find you, you'll be sorry!" he continued.

The Star Tugs overheard everything, and could only watch as Burke and Blair took Zorran, Zebedee, Zak, Zug and Zip away.

"I can't believe it... I never thought it would end like this" O.J. observed.

"We may have had our differences... but even they don't deserve this." Big Mac added.

Captain Star was desperate to save his seven tugs and Grampus. Thankfully, he was approached by one of the three new Tugs company owners one day. Unlike his rivals, he was a kind man.

"I have always respected you Captain Star; I'l buy your dock and you can keep your Tugs and submarine there as long as you need."

"Thank you; these tugs are like family; and I can not bear the thought of seeing them broken up or separated." Star said.

...

Roger Star finished his story. "Captain Star passed away in 1968 peacefully, but it was not until now that I was able to complete his mission and get the tugs and Grampus a home." He told the harbormaster, in tears.

"Captain Zero was never seen in Public again, so no one knows what happened to him, and I later found out the Z-stacks were in fact saved, but they were sold to separate owners."

The Harbormaster did his best to hold it together. "Do not worry Mr. Star; today marks a new beginning. In due time all your tugs shall be rescued, and made good as new."

"Thank you." Roger Star said. Then he looked up. "I did it great-grandpa; I saved your stars" he said, smiling.

to be continued...


	4. A New Home

Author's note: Hello everyone, Frank here. Well, it has been a long wait for the Tugs, but at last they have been rescued and are on their way to their new home. It took a lot of thinking, and talking it over with the people I am working on this story with, but at last we have a great twist for the end of this chapter. Please enjoy chapter four of the Thomas/TUGS crossover; and don't forget to leave a review!

"Easy…easy… got it!" It was a tedious process, but at last the seven tugs and Grampus had been loaded on to the cargo ship. Times had really changed in the years they were laying around; so much so they hadn't realized now cargo ships were so big all seven tugs and Grampus could fit on them and there would still be room to spare.

As the workmen were tying the tugs down, someone noticed the old, abandoned engine in the siding. "Hey, where we're going, the railway is a safe haven for steam engines... You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh, why not? Probably better than letting it rust away. Get that crane on it!"

Puffa awoke to find himself on the ship with the tugs. "Huh? Where am I?"

"You've been saved Puffa; you're coming with us!" O.J. informed him.

"All right! Sure beats staying in that siding." Puffa said, sounding hopeful for the first time in years.

Ten Cents and the others were a bit hazy on what had happened during the time they were just sitting around. They had gotten word that the Fulton Ferry had been sold elsewhere, but other than that they weren't sure of what had happened over the years.

"Poor Boomer; looks like he's going to be the last of everybody still here." Ten Cents sighed.

"He's quite lucky though; he's the only one of all of us to have held a consistent job all these years." O.J. observed.

The freighter prepared to leave Bigg City port. It was no longer the port city that the tugs knew, but it was still sad to be leaving home. "Well, goodbye Bigg City; we'll miss you."

Puffa feel asleep as the freighter steamed off into the horizon... for the Star Fleet, it was a new beginning. A few days into the journey to their new home, Warrior lamented "if only Captain Star lived to see this day."

"It's all right Warrior, we're safe now, and that's all Captain Star wanted" O.J. assured.

"Say, what do you think ever happened to Captain Zero?" Warrior suddenly asked.

They were all silent for a moment. "Frankly, I hope that scoundrel was hit by a train." Top Hat said.

"Don't be ridiculous, something like that we would have heard about." Big Mac said. "He went missing when we went bankrupt, and that's good enough for me." He added.

"Maybe he ended up on the island we're going to?" Warrior suggested. Everyone on board just laughed it off.

"Warrior, don't be ridiculous...if he went anywhere, he probably went to Canada." Ten Cents said.

"Or perhaps even Europe, my dears." Hercules added.

"He could have joined the Navy under a false name" Grampus suggested.

"At his age? Unlikely. Personally I think he hopped on a train and started a new life elsewhere." O.J. suggested.

"Maybe he finally got his; perhaps he was taken into custody for his more questionable actions." Sunshine thought.

This really was a Conundrum... What ever happened to Captain Zero?

After about a week, the Star Tugs saw it... an Island, off in the distance. "Welcome to your new home... the Island of Sodor!" The ship's captain informed the tugs. They cheered at the sight of their new home. "This is it... a new life." Ten Cents said to himself.

As they got closer to the docks, they saw a docked ocean liner.

"My dear the Vienna looks so glorious in her new livery." Hercules observed.

"What are talking about Hercules, that ship's called the S.S. Roxstar." Warrior said.

"Warrior, old chap, didn't you hear about the Vienna's capture during the Second World War? She was owned by a German company and is one of the few liners still around. From what I hear the Americans took her and sold her off to a tourist company run by a woman named Miss Allcroft. She has the Vienna, or should I say Roxstar run a line from here to America." Hercules explained.

"Oh, that's great to hear. I wonder what happened to the Duchess though..." Warrior mentioned.

"My Dear, sorry to tell you this but the Duchess was sunk by a German U-boat during the war. She was delivering supplies to Great Britain and was intercepted; they sunk her the minute they saw her flags." Hercules recalled.

"That's a sad thing to hear." Warrior sighed.

"Cheer up Warrior, at least will be working with another familiar face, right Big Mac?" Ten Cents said, trying to change the mood.

"Right Ten Cents, towing her will just be like back in the glory years." Bug Mac replied.

"Well chaps we better get fixed up quick so we can get right to work." Hercules informed the others.

"Right!" everyone said together.

As the freighter came closer in, Thomas the tank engine and Salty the harbor diesel were near Cranky the crane, when they saw it come in. Porter was on the other side of the dock shunting.

"Ahoy, there's a sight you don't see every day; a ship carrying a load of ships!" Salty observed.

"Those must be the tugboats the harbormaster is expecting." Cranky pointed out.

"And I heard a rumor about a new engine; Sir Topham Hatt asked me to pick up something from here and take it to the steamworks." He said.

But all three were surprised when "STAR TUGS! GRAMPUS! PUFFA! I THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER SEE YOU LOT AGAIN!" A voice boomed. It had come from that crane near Cranky that had always been there, but never really said anything.

The Star fleet was delighted "BIG MICKEY! HELLO!"

"You can talk?" Cranky asked, shocked.

"Well how would you feel being rescued from the sea, reassembled on a strange land, and surrounded by complete strangers? You wouldn't have anything to say now would you?" Big Mickey replied.

Cranky didn't quite understand, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Soon, the freighter was alongside the dock and Cranky prepared to unload the engine on to Thomas' flatbed.

Ten Cents was delighted to see his new home. But he saw that Puffa was still sleeping.

"Hey Puffa! wake up! we're... Oh my goodness! Puffa, you've got a face now!"

"Huh? I do?" Puffa asked. A crewman pointed to a shiny piece of metal and Puffa saw his reflection in it. "You're right! I do! There must be something special about this place." Puffa said to Ten Cents.

It wasn't easy, but after a few hours of hard work, the tugs and Grampus were in drydock, and Puffa was loaded onto a flatcar to be taken to the steamworks.

"Hello there, I'm Thomas. I'll be taking you to the steamworks. They'll make you as good as new." Thomas assured.

"I'm Puffa; glad to meet you Thomas."

The eight vessels were inspected to see how severe the damage was for each of them. Ten Cents and Warrior were the most intact of the tugs, really only needing some refurbishment, new paint and rebuilt engines. Grampus had been kept in drydock for a while before the rescue, and was in about the same state as Warrior and Ten Cents. Sunshine's 20 foot hole would require him to stay in drydock longer than Ten Cents and Warrior though. "Look at this hole. You could drive a truck through it!" A workman observed. Big Mac, O.J., Top Hat and Hercules were all in about the same state; they held up rather well, but would need to be in dry dock longer than Ten Cents and Warrior.

The Harbormaster came over to them. "Welcome to the Island of Sodor. I am Quincy Westmen, and I will be your new boss, or "captain" to use a term you are more familiar with. I know the lot of you are eager to get back to work, but the fact is years of neglect has taken its toll on you. Your repairs begin tomorrow. With luck, you'll all be repaired in a matter of months. Good night all; and welcome home."

Quincy went back to his office. He talked to his assistant. "We haven't enough manpower to work on all eight at once. I estimate to work on all at once, we would need 8,000 men, working in 6 hour shifts around the clock, 4 groups of 2,000." "How many men do we have?" his assistant asked.

"2,000. Plus 800 volunteers from the Bigg City Historical Society, so 2,800. Not even 1/3." The Harbormaster lamented.

"Ok. So what can we do?"

"I want men on Hercules at all hours. He is the strongest of the tugs, and the only ocean tug of the lot, so we'll take 800 of those men. Groups of 200, 6 hour shifts. The remaining 2000 we will divide into 2 8 hour shifts of 1000 men. First shift will work from 8 am to 4 pm, and the second shift will work from 4 pm to 12 am."

"And the order of priorities?"

"Ten Cents, Warrior and Grampus. They got the least amount of damage, so we get them out of the way, they'll be done quickly. Sunshine's only real issues are the hole, paint and engine, so he's next, followed by Top Hat and Big Mac."

"And what of O.J.?" the assistant asked.

The harbormaster sighed. "We haven't got enough men. He will have to wait until we get at least three of the tugs finished." And with that, arrangements were made and the next day, work began on the star fleet. Ten Cents was happy that was to finally be getting repaired. But nearby, he didn't see anybody working on O.J.

"That's strange, I wonder why they're not working on O.J.?" He thought to himself.

*Years earlier

"Here you go my grandson; a boat just for you.."

The elderly Captain Zero was giving a sailboat to his grandson, a young man in a sailor suit. He had recently joined the Navy, and this was his "congratulations" present. "Thank you grandfather; when I get back from the Navy I can use this boat to fulfill the family dream!"

"That's right. And when you do, you'll be able to buy back my fleet from those various private owners on the mainland. The Z-stacks will rise again!" Captain Zero said. "And you will be captain of your own fleet, John Zero."

"Please grandfather, call me... Sailor John. And I will find the lost treasure of Sodor even if it takes me many years! Come on Skiff, let's take you for a test run!"


	5. Rising Stars

Author's note: Hello everyone; apologies for the long wait, but here is chapter five.

While the Star Tugs were safely brought into drydock, Thomas was bringing Puffa the Bigg City engine to the steamworks.

"So on your railway, you were one of only two engines?"

"In a sense, yes. Most of the work was handled by me and one other engine. He didn't have a name though, so we just called him The Goods Engine." Puffa explained.

"What happened to the goods engine?"

"Well one day, there was this accident involving a steel contract and a collapsing bridge. No was was killed, but the engine was deemed a loss and sold off."

"Oh dear. Well, you're going to love it here; there's lots of engines for you to meet."

"That may be true; but I hope I get to stay at the docks; I would like to be able to still see my friends."

"Well, Porter and Salty have a pretty good control over the docks right now, so maybe you can ask Sir Topham Hatt if you can work on Edward's branch line."

"Who's Edward?" Puffa asked. Thomas realized that Puffa hadn't met any of the engines other than him, Salty and Porter, and corrected his mistake.

"Don't worry, you'll get a chance to meet everyone soon."

Soon, they got to the Steamworks, were Victor was waiting for them.

"Ah, Hello Thomas! Is this the engine Sir Topham Hatt was told to expect?" Victor asked as he saw Thomas come into the steamworks

"Yes Victor; this is Puffa, he's from Bigg City in America."

"Hello Victor." Puffa said as he was transferred off the flatbed.

"Oh, I know the feelings you must be going through right now; you're in a new land and it can seem rather strange at first. But don't worry, soon we'll have you fixed up and ready to go."

Then, they heard a loud clang.

"AH! What was that!" Puffa asked, scared.

"Kevin!" Victor screamed.

Over the next several months, work proceeded in not one, but two areas of Sodor. While the tugs were getting repaired at Brendham Docks, a new Branch Line was being constructed that ran from Arlesburgh to Harwick. A whole fiasco went on during this time involving a collapsing rail bed, dynamite, and the theft of a pirate treasure and ship.

"This is one unusual island." O.J. told the others.

"Aye, but it's our island as well now" Big Mac pointed out.

"Well, I'm excited; the harbormaster says I will be ready for duty by the end of the week!" Ten Cents said

"And I'll be ready a couple days after him." Warrior followed up with.

"You'll have a lot of weight on you as the only tug in this Harbor Ten Cents; be sure you don't give in under the pressure." O.J. informed.

"Don't worry, I won't." Ten Cents assured.

Fortunately, the work was light during the next three days, and Ten Cents was able to keep up with it. On the fourth day, Warrior's repairs were complete.

Now that Ten Cents and Warrior were repaired, they were ready for service. Grampus was finished too, but the harbormaster was not sure how to use Grampus; so he docked him near the Star Tugs, where he was quite popular among naval enthusiasts.

"You know, I could've invested in a newer, fuel burning ship; I hope you prove to me that you coal burners are up to the job." The harbormaster said.

"We'll show him." Ten Cents told Warrior. Warrior agreed.

As Ten Cents and Warrior started working they noticed a change in the air...

"Hey Warrior, I think the wind is picking up", said Ten Cents

"Well then we better be careful, winds can be dangerous to work in", Warrior replied

Meanwhile a ship named the S.S. Galliers was coming into port at higher than normal speeds

"Hard to Starboard men", roared the Captain," If we want to dock we're going to have to approach it fast!"

"But Captain", a crewman replied," Isn't this going too fast for the wind speed right now, and doesn't the docks have Tugboats now?"

"Poppycock", the Captain responded," We've come into port by ourselves before, so we can do it again, and we've only ever crashed into the key side once".

The Galliers made a wide turn towards the key side but the heavy gale winds made the ship overshoot its target and had it at an angle heading into the key.

"Oh no", yelled the Captain," the winds are too strong, and with her speed, we can't stop her on our own, help!"

Nearby Ten Cents and Warrior were working when they saw the oncoming disaster.

"Warrior, we've got to stop that ship from crashing!", Ten Cents shouted

"Right!", Warrior responded

The two Tugs courageously sailed against the strong winds to the side of the Galliers. They pushed the ship away from the key with all their might. Just when the forceful wind thought it had the upper hand, the two brave Tugs used the last of their power in one final heave to push the ship back out to sea. It worked and the dock workers, the sailors on the ship, Salty, Porter, Big Mickey and even Cranky cheered for Ten Cents and Warrior's heroism.

The Harbormaster watched this all happen straight from his office's window.

"I guess they weren't a bad gamble after all", he spoke to himself.

That night Ten Cents, Warrior, and Grampus retired to the Dry Dock to meet up with the others still being repaired, when the Harbormaster showed up.

The Harbormaster said, "The bravery from the two of you today has shown me you all have great potential. If all of you have great character like the courageousness shown today, then I couldn't get the rest of you done any faster. That's why I'm in talks with increasing the labor force to get the rest of you Tugboats done. It seems you all have the great character that is needed for this line of work, and I appreciate that. But for now, keep up the good work and we'll see how it goes on from there. Good night." With that, the Harbormaster left to let the Tugs fall asleep.

The next morning, Roger Star was sitting on the deck of the S.S. Roxstar, ready to return to the United States. He was reading the local paper, with the front page article, "Heroic Tugs Save Ship and Dock".

Roger said to himself, "Well, great-Grandfather, it seems your Tugs will fit in rather well, wouldn't you agree?"

As if a sign of approval, the former Star Tugs and Marine Company Flag was flown above the Harbormaster's Office.

"Thought so", Roger replied. With that he left to return to his normal life back home in Bigg City.

Meanwhile at Cronk Penitentiary Visitation Center:

"Mr. Zero, you have visitors", said a guard, and Sailor John walked up to two men in pinstripe suits.

"Hello Mr. Zero, it's a pleasure meeting you", said the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit.

"So, what do you want?" asked Sailor John

"Well we have a proposal for you", responded the Man in the Grey Pinstripe Suit.

"Yes, we would like you to run a fleet of tugboats for our "organization", said the Man in Red Pinstripe Suit," you see, we want to run a shipping business to the island and this "operation" we find would be cheaper if we had our own tug fleet to bring our ships to shore. We think your local knowledge and previous navy experience makes you the perfect candidate for this position".

"And what if I refuse?", asked Sailor John

"Well that is not an option", replied the Man in the Grey Pinstripe Suit.

"Why?" asked Sailor John

The Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit replied, "Well Mr. Zero, your grandfather still has "unpaid debts" to our "organization", and when he fled the States he gave us his fleet as dowry. But, he amassed bigger dues in the Great Depression that 5 tugboats couldn't pay off. When he left and went into hiding, we couldn't find him until your big fiasco involving that lost treasure put your name in the papers. Our scouting parties found out and it was what drawled us here to meet you today".

"And what does that have to do with me?", asked Sailor John

"Well Mr. Zero, debts don't die, and we're the kind of organization that can make your life worse than being behind bars... and that is make you disappear... for good until you're only just a memory", responded the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit.

Sailor John sat their silently in shock until he got up the courage to say, "I would love to accept your offer, but I'm currently in jail".

"Well that can be taken care of", replied the Man in the Grey Pinstripe Suit," You were only in jail for theft charges, damage of personal property and not being able to pay bail, so our legal team will have an easy time getting an appeal for a man your age and for such a backwater judicial court, it will be like child's play".

"Alright then, where and what do you want me to do?", asked Sailor John

"You'll be based out of Arlesburgh Harbor for the time being, and further details on your required tasks once you're released", replied the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit.

"Arlesburgh, figures, anyways, who are my Tugboats?", asked Sailor John

"Obviously your grandfather's original fleet, they were sent to the mainland under different owners in our "Organization", waiting for the time we expand into Sodor", replied the Man in the Grey Pinstripe Suit.

"Well at least I know who they are, anything else", asked Sailor John

"Nothing else, so we shall be going, we WILL be seeing you again, goodbye for now", responded the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit, and the two mysterious men left.

"So it seems phase one can finally begin", said the Man in the Grey Pinstripe Suit.

"Yes", replied the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit," Sodor will never be the same again once our criminal enterprise takes over the island and it's booming economy. First through shipping, then other businesses later down the road. Sailor John or his Tugboats won't even know they're meager pawns in our grand takeover".

So, the Zero Fleet was reborn, and now more old faces were being reunited, but for reasons darker than they would want. This was the beginning of unknown darker times heading for the Star Tugs, the Zed Stacks, and Sodor itself.


	6. Reunions

The harbormaster was as good as his word, and the increased labor force really sped up the repairs of the tugs.

Hercules was the next tug to be completely repaired. He was only a day out of the yards when he was given an important job.

"You're needed up at Tidmouth; there's a tramper that needs to go out today and Ten Cents and Warrior are already doing other jobs" the harbormaster informed.

"Very well my dear, I'll leave at once" Hercules said.

He was about halfway there when he saw a couple ships on an abandoned dock.

"That's strange; what are those doing here?" He went in closer to investigate. He saw an all too familiar lightship and fire tug there.

"Samuel? He's here? And that looks like..." then he saw "Lillie" on the hull.

"Lillie my dear? No, it can't be." Hercules said in disbelief

suddenly the half sunk lightship woke up "H-Hercules? Is that you?" she asked

Now there was no denying it; Hercules had found his dear Lillie. "Lillie, THIS is where you ended up?" Hercules asked

"It wasn't always this bad Hercules; until a few years ago Samuel and I were rather popular among naval enthusiasts. But after the kind man who rescued us died, his children did not want anything to do with us, so we were abandoned." She explained.

Hercules, normally calm and cool, was in utter disbelief of the site before him. "I need to go do a job now; but don't worry Lille, I'll tell the Harbormaster about you and Samuel and we'll save you" he assured. He then left to do his job.

Later that night, he told the Harbormaster about his findings.

"Well, we have been trying to figure out how to put a light closer to the Brendham Docks entrance, and a fire tug could be a valuable asset; all right, we will rescue them." The Harbormaster agreed.

The next day, workmen came and started some initial work on Lillie and Samuel. They were both solid, they just needed the water pumped out of them and they would float no problem. Hercules towed the two of them back to Brendham Docks.

"So this is your new home?" Lillie asked

"Yes my dear; all of us Star Tugs are here, including Grampus" Hercules informed them as they came into the Docks. Ten Cents and Warrior were working nearby.

"Well I'll be, it's Lillie!" Warrior said.

"And the Fire Chief!" Ten Cents followed up with.

Lillie and Samuel joined the other Star Tugs in Dry dock.

"Well lads, it's good to see you two again." O.J. said

"With you two around, this harbor will feel a little more like home" Big Mac observed.

"Aye; and we'll certainly feel a lot safer with Samuel here" Sunshine added.

"Don't you worry Sunshine; I may have been out of service for a long time, but a fire tug never forgets his training" Samuel assured.

"And with my light, the entrance to Brendham Docks will be easier to find at night" Lillie added.

About a week and a half later Top Hat was repaired and the harbormaster gave him permission to sail around Brendham Docks; Top Hat wanted to get familiar with his new home.

"Oh my, not a railway barge in sight. How is a railway tug supposed to do his job when there isn't a single railway barge on this whole island?" He said

Then he thought back "I never thought I'd say this... but I miss those two, Frank and Eddie" he lamented.

"He wouldn't be missing us if he just looked down for a moment, eh, Frank?"

"Quite right Eddie; if he'd just lower his wheelhouse for a moment he would see his old chaps." a couple voices said.

"What? It can't be!" Top Hat said, looking in the direction of the voices. "Frank? Eddie?"

"Hello Top Hat" they said together.

"Why, what are you doing here?" Top Hat asked

"Sitting around since no one could find a use for us." Frank replied

"Well, even the two of you don't deserve this; I am going straight to the Harbormaster and am going to ask him to fix the two of you up." He said; his time as an abandoned tug had made Top Hat just a little more sensitive to these situations.

Top Hat told the harbormaster about Frank and Eddie, who then realized.

"The Vicarstown Bridge connects this island to the mainland; but we don't have a bridge connecting us to the Isle of Mann. I know, once Frank and Eddie are repaired, we can finally have a connection to there! Top Hat, get Frank and Eddie to the dry-dock; we need to get them ready for service."

Though afloat, the two railway barges still needed repairs and strengthening; after all years of neglect do take its toll.

The dry-dock workers certainly had their work cut out for them; on one hand, Ten Cents, Top Hat, Warrior, Hercules and Grampus were finished. On the other though, Big Mac, O.J., Sunshine, Lillie, Samuel, Frank and Eddie were now undergoing repairs. Thanks to the arrangements the harbormaster made though, now there were 4,500 men working on this project.

A few days later, Warrior was looking for a barge to start work. He was used to working on garbage duty, and was searching for a garbage barge. Looking all around him, there wasn't a single one in sight.

"I can't believe there's not a single barge to do garbage collection duty", he said to himself. The harbormaster told him he could do Garbage work if he could find a garbage barge, and "there is one lying around here somewhere," but he couldn't remember where.

As he was about to give up hope, he backed into what he thought was a dock and heard a familiar voice.

"Warrior old friend is it really you?" the familiar voice asked.

Warrior responded, "Suffering stacks, if it isn't you... Lord Stinker!"

"Yes Warrior, glad to finally see you again" the garbage barge said.

"Well, you're no use to anyone like that; I'll tell the harbormaster to get you repaired and we'll have you out in no time!" He told Lord Stinker as he went to find the harbormaster.

"Please sir, Lord Stinker is my friend, and a good garbage barge!"

"All right, we'll get him repaired; my, the dry-dock sure is filling up; I hope we'll get another tug repaired soon" the harbormaster said.

Soon, Lord Stinker was getting his repairs; after all these years, he was glad to be working with his old friend again.

Though O.J. was there before most of the other Tugs present, the harbormaster knew that he needed to get certain tugs and barges out faster than others

"Focus on Samuel; the fire tug will be a great asset; then on Frank and Eddie, they take up a lot of space and we need it freed as soon as possible. Work will still proceed on the others, but those three we need to get out quickly."

Poor O.J. once again fell to the bottom of the list... but at least this time, he had some men on him.

A week later, though Samuel still needed repairs, Sunshine, Frank and Eddie were finished, and Big Mac was almost ready to go. Sunshine immediately went to find Ten Cents.

"I tell you Ten Cents, it feels great not having that hole in my side anymore." He said

"I'll bet it does; I just wish the police caught the guys who blew the hole in the first place" Ten Cents said.

"Me too." Sunshine replied.

Big Mac had only just gotten out of dry-dock, and the harbormaster finally thought that his dry-dock would have free spaces at last.

Just then a man walked in to the Harbormaster's office

"Hello Quincy, how has it been?", says the man

"Oh hello Matt, great, how's the wharf been?", replied the Harbormaster

"Oh lovely, the canals are beautiful this time of year, but as you can guess this isn't a friendly visit", replied Matt

"So why have you come by then?", the Harbormaster asked

"Well the Thin Controller has allowed the proposed Lakeside Canal Project to go underway, but we've hit a few roadblocks construction wise", Matt responded  
"Oh, what are they exactly?", the Harbormaster asked

"Well the construction company hired can't dig it due to the ground's easily breakable surface, so they fear their digging equipment could possibly fall into the water, and we don't have any floating equipment of our own so we were wondering if we could borrow yours", Matt replied

"Well I don't have any equipment yet, but I do have an idea where to get some", replied the Harbormaster

"Oh that would be great. By the way, do you have any "low in the water" tugboats? The water gets shallow when we dig, so something like an Alligator Tug should work. I heard they use them for logging in America, and it would be really appreciated", Matt replied

"An Alligator Tug you say, I did purchase my new tugboats from America, so I'll make some calls", responded the Harbormaster. Matt then left and the Harbormaster went right to work reuniting even more old friends by accident.

A few minutes later, the harbormaster was on the phone talking to someone in Bigg City.

"Oh yes, we've had an Alligator Tug lying around here for years; it is about time someone took him." the contact said

"Excellent; send him right over. Say, do you have any floating machinery? There's this canal project and we could sure use some."

"Just so happens, yes. I have this dredger and two floating cranes that have been sitting around for a while; they're all yours."

"Thank you; it has been a pleasure." The harbormaster said as he hung up.

In Bigg City, the Scrapyard Manager called out to his workers. "Listen up! We just got an order! The Alligator Tug, the dredger, and the two floating cranes; they're to be shipped to the Island of Sodor and they need to go out in a couple days!"

About a week later another cargo ship was coming into Sodor; with the harbormaster's recent purchases on board. Ten Cents, Sunshine and Warrior were heading out to meet cargo ship when they heard a familiar voice.

"Hello Star Tugs." he said.

"BILLY SHOEPACK!" The Star tugs exclaimed together.

"Hello Ten Cents, Sunshine" an Irish-accented voice said next. The tugs were surprised indeed.

"Scuttlebutt Pete!?" They said in amazement.

"And don't forget me!" a voice boomed; it was the bigger of the cranes

"Mighty Mo? Is it really you!?" Ten Cents shouted

"Indeed it is old friend; and Little Ditcher is here too!" he replied.

"Great to see you all; welcome to Sodor!" The Star Tugs replied.

The harbormaster watched from his office as Billy Shoepack, Scuttlebutt Pete, Mighty Mo and Little Ditcher joined O.J., Samuel and Lillie in dry-dock.

"Why does it always seem as soon as one ship is repaired, another takes its place?" The Harbormaster sighed.

Meanwhile, Sailor John walked along an old dock near Arlesburgh to see the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit waiting for him.

"I'm finally out of prison, so where are my Tugboats?" Sailor John asked

The Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit responded, "They should be arriving shortly, it takes a while to reach here from the Mainland, anything else?"

"Yeah, one more question, who am I working for?" Sailor John asked

"That would be the OGPU", replied the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit

"But that would mean...", Sailor John said before he got cut off by the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit who replied, "Yes, your grandfather owed money even to us".

Before Sailor John could say anything else, he saw a familiar looking fleet of 5 black and maroon Tugboats puff near the dockside.

"Well that's my cue to leave, seems you have some introducing to do, I'll send you the required work details tomorrow, and remember to have the jobs done by the end of the month, or you will face some serious consequences", the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit said as he walked into the busy key-side of Arlesburgh Harbor. He turned around one last time.

"Oh, and I also suggest you find yourself some... "Legitimate" contracts too; gotta cover our tracks, you know" he told John before turning around and heading off.


	7. Back to Work

Hello everyone. First off, I wanted to apologize for a small spelling error I had only just been informed of: it seems I keep misspelling Z-Stacks and Zed Stacks, but given that this is how it is pronounced, I think it is understandable. The last few chapters have focused on the Tugs end, so here we're going to see more of Thomas and Sodor. Please note that most of the engines of the Railway Series and TV series will appear, but for various reasons the following engines will not be appearing at any point in the story: Dennis, Hank, Flora, Fearless Freddie, Mighty Mac, Billy, Proteus, Splatter and Dodge, Bash and Dash, and Ferdinand. With this out of the way, on with the story:

As the tugs adjusted to life on Sodor or continued to get repaired, over in Crovan's Gate Puffa the Bigg City Engine was finally repaired, and ready for service.

"Wow, I feel amazing! Just like new!" Puffa told Victor.

"Well my friend, Sodor prides itself on having one of the best steam engine repair shops in the world" Victor replied.

Just then Thomas came in.

"Hello Thomas, why are you here?" Puffa asked. Then Sir Topham Hatt arrived.

"Who are you?" Puffa asked.

"Ah, hello there Puffa. I apologize for not having come to visit you sooner, but as of late I have been very busy. My name is Sir Topham Hatt, and I am the controller of this railway."

"Pleased to meet you sir." Puffa asked

"Now I understand that where you came from Puffa, there were not too many engines?"

"Yes sir, it was me and one other; then for a while only me before other engines came" Puffa explained.

"Indeed. Well, on this island, there are lots of engines, as a matter of fact. I know being in a strange, new place can be overwhelming Puffa, so given that today is a rather quiet day for the railway, I am giving you permission to visit most of the island to visit most of the engines here on Sodor."

Puffa was delighted. "Well, I have met Thomas and Victor; how many more engines could there be?" Puffa asked

Sir Topham Hatt laughed "quite a lot actually; but I want you to feel welcome here, so I want you to have an opportunity to meet as many as possible" Hatt explained.

"Well, why am I here sir?" Thomas asked

Hatt looked at him "Well Thomas, while it is true that the signalman does have the route planned, Puffa here does not know the island well; to make him feel more comfortable I would like you to take him around Sodor and help introduce him to the engines" Hatt finished.

"You can count on me, sir" Thomas said as he looked at Puffa.

"Come on, Puffa, let's begin your welcome tour." Thomas said

"Ok" Puffa replied as they went outside.

"Where too first?" Puffa asked

Thomas thought it over "right now we are in Crovan's Gate... I know! Let's go to the transfer station, you can meet the Skarloey Railway engines."

"I thought this was the North Western Railway?" Puffa asked, confused.

"I will explain on the way" Thomas assured as they set off.

When Puffa and Thomas were at the station, the could see from where they were all of the Skarloey engines.

"They're so small" Puffa said.

"They are narrow gauge engines; they're smaller than us, but just as useful" Thomas explained. Then he pointed out all of the engines. Skarloey was at the station with a train.

"Hello Thomas; is that a new friend?"

"Yes indeed; he's from America and I'm helping introduce him to everyone. Puffa, say hello to Skarloey... Rheneas... Sir Handel... Peter Sam... Rusty...Duncan... Ivo Hugh... Duke... and Fred the Diesel" Thomas finished.

(NOTE: Not using Mighty Mac and Freddie for various reasons)

"Everyone, this is Puffa" Thomas told the Skarloey engines

"Hello Puffa." Replied most of the narrow gauge engines.

"What? Doesn't Sir Topham Hatt have ENOUGH engines already?" The yellow engine with a goods engine asked.

Puffa just stared at him, confused. Then Rheneas laughed.

"Don't worry about Duncan; he's just an engine that always complains and grumbles."

"Well I am a plain, blunt engine" Duncan retorted.

"So are these all the narrow gauge engines?" Puffa asked, trying to move on.

"Not quite" Rheneas replied. "There is one more narrow gauge engine, Luke, but he works up at the Blue Mountain Quarry, so he does not come around here that often" Rheneas further explained.

"Well, I hope I get to meet him one day" Puffa replied.

"We'd better get going Puffa; there are still many engines to meet" Thomas replied.

"Ok; goodbye everyone!" Puffa said as he and Thomas set off.

A little while later they pulled into Vicarstown station. "This is Vicarstown Puffa; it's the last stop before the mainland. Just a little further down is the Vicarstown Bridge, then after that is Barrow-in-Furness, the only mainland station we have." Thomas explained. Just then, a Black Class 08 diesel rolled into the station with a goods train.

Well, hello Thomas; is that a new engine for Sir Topham Hatt's railway?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Puffa, this is Diesel."

"I can see that; but what's his name?" Puffa asked, confused

Thomas laughed "Puffa, he is a Diesel engine, but his name name is also Diesel." Thomas explained

"Your name is Diesel?" Puffa asked, surprised.

"Yes it is; and don't you forget it, because we diesels are revolutionary, and..."

"Oh don't even say it, I've seen it all before" Puffa cut him off. Thomas and Diesel were surprised at his outburst. "My railway closed, then was replaced by another steam engine railway before that one was dieselized; well guess what, is steam engines are just as good when we are taken care of."

Diesel said nothing, and just left. "Don't worry Puffa, that's just the way he is, there are friendly diesels on this island too; you'll get to meet them later". Thomas assured. Just then, an engine pulled into the station; it was a big black tender engine, with 8 driving wheels and the number 51.

"Hello Thomas; who is this?" Hiro asked.

"Hello Hiro; this is Puffa, he's joining our railway from America." Thomas explained

"Pleased to meet you Puffa; I am Hiro, and I too am from a foreign land."

"I can see that; you class of engine doesn't look like anything I am familiar with" Puffa observed.

"Nor is your class familiar to me" Hiro added before both laughed.

"It's nice to see you Hiro, but there is lots more for me to show Puffa" Thomas said as he and Puffa set off.

"So long Thomas, and welcome to Sodor Puffa!" Hiro called out as they drove away.

As they steamed towards the next station, they passed through a tunnel. "This is Henry's Tunnel; many years ago Henry was afraid of the rain ruining his paint, so he hid in this tunnel. They actually had to board it up when he wouldn't come out and it wasn't until Gordon's accident when he was finally released."

"Who are Henry and Gordon?" Puffa asked, confused.

"Don't worry, you will meet them eventually" Thomas assured.

They continued down the mainline, when they came to a junction. "The Signalman has arranged for us to continue down the main line, but I just want to let you know, down this way is the Norramby branch; it's worked by an engine named Arthur. He runs fish from the Fishing Village to the docks, where Henry takes the Flying Kipper every night.

"Flying Kipper?"

"I will explain later" Thomas said as they continued on their journey. Eventually, they came to Kellsthorpe Road. "This is Kellsthorpe Road; from here there is a junction that goes down to the Kirk Ronan Branch line" Thomas explained. Just then, a large Orange engine pulled into the station. He was a tender engine with 10 driving wheels, pulling a heavy goods train; he had stopped to take on water.

"Hello Thomas; who is your friend?" the engine asked

"Hello Murdoch; this is Puffa, he's the newest engine on Sodor. Puffa, this is Murdoch, a heavy goods train. He's the strongest engine on Sodor."

"Hello Murdoch; nice to meet you." Puffa replied.

Thomas then decided it was time to leave "I have more to show you Puffa, we had better get going. Goodbye Murdoch!" Thomas said as they steamed away. Thomas then looked at Puffa.

"Murdoch doesn't talk much; he may be big, but he is quite shy, actually. It's best to give him some space and let him come to you than you come to him" Thomas explained.

Puffa understood, and they continued on their journey.

Eventually, they stopped at Killdane Station.

"Why are we stopping?", Puffa asked.

Thomas replied, "It seems I'm running low on coal, I need a refill, but you better fill up too, we got a long journey ahead of us".

"Will Do!", Puffa responded.

As they refilled, Thomas explained ""This is Kildane, that junction over there goes down to the Peel Godred branch and the Culdee Fell Railway. It's a mountain railway that goes all the way to the top of Culdee Fell; it's out of the way though, so we can't visit it now" Thomas explained. "There is also a garbage dump down that line; two engines named Whiff and Scruff work it."

Just then, Emily arrived pulling a small goods train.

"Hello Thomas, who's that cute new engine you have with you?", Emily asked.

"His name's Puffa, he's from America and the Fat Controller says he'll be working at the docks and on Edward's line" the cheeky engine replied.

"Good for him, glad to know a cutie like that will be helping getting loads out faster" Emily replied

"Your to kind, really" Puffa said blushing

"Come on Puffa, I'm done now and we got more island to see, bye Emily!" Thomas said

"Bye Emily" Puffa replied

"Bye Boys" Emily responded as the three engines went back along their chartered routes

After leaving Kildane, Thomas and Puffa proceeded to go through Cronk, then went to Maron station. They came to a stop as Thomas told Puffa about it.

"This station is Maron; see that track over there? It leads to the Ulfstead Branch and Ulfstead Castle. It's owned by the Earl of Sodor, and he has a whole railway running on the Castle grounds. We don't have time to go there today, but there are three engines to meet up there; Millie, Stephen and Samson. Stephen and Samson are two of the earliest steam engines ever built Puffa, yet they are as useful as ever" Thomas finished.

Just then, two giant tender engines sped through the station! They went right through Maron in a matter of seconds and headed up the Ulfstead branch.

"Wow! Who are they?" Puffa said in amazement.

"That was Connor and Caitlin; they run a passenger service from the mainland to the castle; they are two of the fastest engines on Sodor" Thomas explained.

"I wonder what it is like to go that fast?" Puffa asked.

"Trust me; its not good; you'll feel out of breath and your wheels will ache" Thomas said, thinking back to when he was a station pilot. Just then, a diesel engine came into the station, pulling a passenger engine; his engine sounded rather loud.

"As if one diesel wasn't enough" Puffa said in slight disgust.

"No Puffa, this one is friendly. Say hello to Bear; he's named for the sound his engine makes."

"Hello Thomas; I see there is a new engine on Sodor."

"Yes Bear, this is Puffa; he's from America and I'm showing him around the island."

"But what about work to do?" Bear asked, confused

"It's a slow day today, so Sir Topham Hatt said it was ok" Thomas explained.

"Oh, ok. Hello Puffa; welcome to Sodor; I hope you will enjoy your stay here" Bear said.

Puffa's attitude towards Bear changed as soon as he heard Bear greet him in a friendly manner. "Thank you Bear; I think I will enjoy it here."

Soon, Thomas and Puffa were off, heading for the next station.

The two tank engines were soon at the base of Gordon's Hill.

"Why is it called Gordon's Hill?" Puffa asked

"Before I worked on Sodor, there was an incident involving Gordon. He doesn't like pulling trucks, so he ended up stuck on the hill because he wasn't even trying. Edward had to come in and help him, and the name just stuck" Thomas explained.

Thomas and Puffa continued on to the next station. Edward was waiting there with a passenger train, and BoCo was there with a goods train.

"This is Wellsworth Puffa; Edward's branch line comes off from here and goes down to the docks. You'll be working both at the docks and Edward's branch line, but there is still more island to see, so we will come back later" Thomas assured.

"Who's Edward?" Puffa asked. Thomas then laughed

"Why, he's right here Puffa. Edward, this is Puffa, from America. He's a new engine that will be working with you and BoCo on your branch line."

"Hello Puffa; I look forward to working with you" Edward replied.

"As do I Puffa. My name is BoCo, and you'll enjoy working on this branch line" he added.

"What is around here besides the branch line?" Puffa asked.

"There's a coal mine over that way, and as you just saw, we came from Gordon's Hill" Thomas replied.

"I hope you were careful Puffa; more accidents have happened on that Hill than we can count" Edward warned.

"I think we did fine; after all we aren't pulling trains" Puffa assured.

"well, see you later Puffa; you'll get to see more of the branch line later" Edward assured

"Goodbye Edward, BoCo" Puffa replied and he and Thomas set off.

They proceeded to steam through Crosby station, then headed onward to the biggest station on Sodor: Knapford.

"This is Knapford station Puffa, the biggest station on Sodor. This is where the express departs from and its the junction to my branch line" Thomas said.

"You have a Branch line?" Puffa asked

"Indeed I do; it was my reward for saving James from an accident after his brake blocks caught fire."

"In my defense, they were made of wood at the time" a voice replied. Thomas and Puffa looked over to see three engines at various Platforms; a blue one, a green one, and a red one.

"And now, I have proper brakes" James replied proudly.

"That still didn't save you from needing bootlaces" Gordon pointed out.

"Bootlaces?" Puffa asked, confused.

"It was a long time ago... no one even bothers talking about it anymore" James replied quickly

"I'm sorry, but who are all of you?" Puffa asked.

"Yes Thomas; who is that new engine?" Henry asked.

"Oh, right. Everyone, this is Puffa, a new engine from America, I'm showing him around the island so he feels welcome. Puffa, this is..." Thomas was rudely cut off.

"My name is James; Sir Topham Hatt's most splendid engine" the red tender engine said proudly.

"And I am Gordon, the express engine" the blue engine boasted.

"So you're the one who got stuck on the hill near Wellsworth?" Puffa asked innocently.

"Uh... yes, but that was many years ago, I never get stuck there now." Gordon replied

"Only because most of the time you have a banker" James replied.

"Never mind that Gordon; he'll do anything to get out of pulling trucks. I'm Henry, by the way" the green engine replied.

"I am an express engine! I have no business working with trucks." Gordon said angrily

"Which is why he once fell in a ditch to get out of taking trucks" Henry pointed out.

"At least I never was afraid of the rain and decided to hide in a tunnel" Gordon rebutted

"Oh, so you are that Henry" Puffa realized.

Henry was embarrassed "Well, at least my safety valve didn't burst; I had to take the express for you" Henry replied.

"Please, you needed Edward's help to pull the express"

"And I can pull just fine on my own now that I am in my new shape!" Henry shot back

"Wasn't enough to save you from that elephant" James sneered

"At least I never lose my focus when pulling a train; you crashed into tar wagons when you lost yours" Henry replied.

"At least you can pull trains, old square wheels" Gordon pointed out

"Well you're nothing but a galloping sausage!" James retorted

"And you're just a bunch of rusty red scrap iron!" Gordon replied

"Uh, excuse me?" Puffa tried to interrupt.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" The three replied.

Thomas laughed "come along Puffa; at this point, we are better off leaving them as they are."

"What is all that about?"

Thomas laughed again, "they have a complicated history, the three of them. I'll ask my driver to show you the Thin Clergyman's books one day" Thomas explained.

Thomas and Puffa finally made their way to Tidmouth. "This is the last stop on the main line Puffa; over there is the sheds where I sleep." Thomas said, referring to the train sheds Puffa could see not too far away.

"Is that where I will be sleeping?" Puffa asked. Thomas laughed "No Puffa, only Me, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy and Emily sleep there; you'll probably go to the shed on Edward's branch line where BoCo, Salty and Porter sleep" Thomas explained. At the station, Puffa saw two identical Black tender engines.

"Wow, am I seeing double?" Puffa asked.

"In a way you are Puffa. This is Donald and Douglas, the Scottish twins. Hello Donald and Douglas!" Thomas said

"Hello Thomas!" The twins replied

"Hello Donald and Douglas; my name is Puffa, and I am new to Sodor" he said.

"Welcome Puffa; glad to meet you" Donald replied

"Wish we could chat longer, but we have a goods train to take" Douglas added

Both engines went on their way as Thomas and Puffa made their way to Duck's branch line.

Thomas and Puffa went down Duck's branch line; in most places there was a lovely view of the ocean. Eventually, they came down to Haultrough, where Duck and Oliver were at the station with their auto-coaches.

"Hello Thomas... why are you on the Little Western and who is that?" Duck asked.

"Hello Duck... it's a quiet day on the railway, and this is Puffa, a new engine. He's going to be working on Edward's branch line and at the docks, but Sir Topham Hatt wants him to feel welcome here; so I am showing him around the island. We're on our way to see the little engines." Thomas explained.

"Well, hello there Puffa, my name is Montague, but everyone calls me Duck. And these are my Auto-coaches, Alice and Mirabel."

"Pleased to meet you Puffa, my name is Oliver, and these are my auto-coaches, Isabel and Dulcie" Oliver added on.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Mr. Puffa" a voice called from a nearby siding. "I am Toad the brakevan, and I work on this line too." Puffa added on.

"We all used to work on the Great Western Railway... hence, my Branch line is called the Little Western" Duck explained.

"It is nice to meet all of you" Puffa replied. Duck and Oliver had to go now, so Thomas and Puffa continued down the line to Arlesdale.

Reaching Arlesdale, Puffa was surprised... these engines were even smaller than the Skarloey engines!

"These are the Arlesdale engines; they are minimum gauge engines who deliver Ballast and wool from the villages along this line" Thomas explained.

"Hello... uh, little engines, my name is Puffa" he said the five engines present.

"Hello there Puffa, are you new here?" said the Blue engine.

"Yes I am, Thomas is showing me around Sodor" he explained.

"Well, welcome to Arlesdale, I'm Bert, and this is Rex" he said as a green engine pulled in alongside him.

"And my name is Mike" the red engine said as he pulled in on the ballast chute.

"And I'm Jock" the remaining steam engine said from a siding.

"And last but not least, that diesel in the shed over there is Frank" Bert added on.

"Well, we had better get going Puffa; wait until you see the new branch line that was constructed while you were being repaired" Thomas said.

"Goodbye everyone" Thomas and Puffa said as they steamed away.

As Thomas showed Puffa the new branch line, and even introduced him to Ryan, there was some activity going on down in Arlesdale Harbor, in front of a building with a recently erected sign saying "Zero Marine;" the Z-Stacks finally docked right next to Sailor John.

"Hey, who's this?", Zorran asked suspiciously.

"My name's John, Sailor John, and I'll be your new boss", Sailor John replied.

"A new boss, that's good, I've missed working like the old days", Zebedee responded.

"Figures you would miss working. I, on the other hand, am just happy to still be in one piece and not pieces of scrap. But this new boss we got seems oddly familiar", Zorran said curious.

"Yeah he gives off a familiar feeling to 'em", Zak replied.

"Kinda like old Captain Zero", Zip said innocently.

"Well that not surprising since I'm his grandson", Sailor John responded.

"Your related to who?" Zorran said surprised.

"It's actually whom Zorran", Zug replied.

"Shut it Zug... you know I kinda miss that. Anyways I refuse to work for a man related to that scoundrel", Zorran said angrily.  
"Well I'm not in a situation that I wanted to be in. I am forced to run this fleet, and my higher ups are making it so we can set up their operations on this island and get some shipping contracts done" Sailor John replied.

"I still refuse to work for you even if you are being forced to work with us" Zorran responded.

"Well fine, refuse and be turned into scrap and let those new Star Tugs take all the contracts", Sailor John said angrily.

"Hold on did you say Star Tugs?, Zorran asked curious, then Sailor John got an idea.

Sailor John then said, " well since you refuse to work all the Star Tugs from Bigg City will take all the contracts and force you idiots to be dust collectors on the Mainland."

"Alright this changes everything, so tell us what you want us to do" Zorran said intrigued.

"All you have to do is a few jobs from Headquarters and a couple of contracts from across the island, and you'll be fine. I don't care how you get them or what you do, just get the jobs done quickly", Sailor John responded.

"Alright lads, let's get to work", Zorran yelled as the other Zeroes shouted in agreement.

Sailor John watched as his five new Tugboats set off to find work. He could already tell there was going to be a lot of trouble ahead for him.

"All I wanted was to get Grandfather's tugs back... I never wanted it to be like this though." He said to himself.

Meanwhile, Thomas and Puffa were now making their way towards Brendham. Before they headed back to Edward's branch line though, Thomas took Puffa down part of his Branch line, stopping at Elsbridge.

"And this is my Branch line; it goes down a bit farther, but we don't have time to go all the way to Ffarquhar today. There's a quarry there with a nice diesel shunted named Mavis; hopefully you'll get to meet her someday." Thomas said.

Just then, at the station a couple Trains pulled up: Percy with two coaches and Toby with two coaches and a luggage van.

"Hi Thomas; who's the new engine?" The green one asked

"This is Puffa, he's a new engine who's going to be working on Edward's line and at the docks. Puffa, this is Percy and Toby.

"Pleased to meet you Puffa" Toby said, "and these coaches behind me are Henrietta and Victoria, and the luggage van is Elsie."

"Hello" they all said collectively.

"And those two coaches Percy is pulling are Annie and Clarabel; they are my coaches, but since I am showing you around the island, Percy is taking them" Thomas explained.

Just then, a railcar passed by. "Hi Thomas; is that a new engine?"

"Yes, this is Puffa, he's from America. Puffa, this is Daisy, she runs that new branch line with Ryan; but she worked on this branch line for many years, so she still has a shed here" Thomas explained.

"Hello everyone; I hope we get to meet again one day" Puffa said. They could have stayed longer, but Thomas and Puffa had to get to Brendham, so they said their goodbyes and left.

As they traveled down Edward's branch line, they took one last detour before heading to the docks.

"These are the Clay Pits Puffa; China clay is mined here then sent to the docks to be shipped all over the world" Thomas explained. a few tracks over, two yellow tank engines saw Thomas and Puffa.

"Look Bill, it's a new engine"

"Indeed Ben, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh, yes" Bill replied. The two tank engines then moved to another section of track closer to Thomas and Puffa.

Bill went to one side, Ben the other. Bill pulled forward first, next to Thomas.

"Hello Thomas, is this a new engine?"

"Oh yes, this is..." but before Thomas could finish, Bill backed up and Ben Pulled up, this time next to Puffa.

"Hello there, are you a new engine?"

"Why yes, my name is..." but before Puffa could finish Ben backed up and Bill pulled forward again.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I was trying to tell you his name is..." and Bill backed up again as Ben puffed forward

"You're who now?"

"I keep trying to tell you my name is..." and Ben backed up again. This time both Bill and Ben raced forward and came to a stop.

"WELCOME TO SODOR!" They both screamed, and Puffa nearly panicked

"What the?! Two of you!?" He said, shocked

"Bill and Ben, what are you up to this time?" Thomas asked them.

"We're sorry Thomas, we just wanted to welcome the new engine." Bill said

"By driving me crazy?" Puffa asked, confused.

"That's Bill and Ben for you" a small blue engine said as it puffed up. "Hello there, you must be the new engine we heard about from Edward."

"Yes he is. Puffa, this is Bill, Ben and Timothy. They work the China Clay Pits on this branch line and deliver the stuff down to the docks from time to time" Thomas explained.

"I'm Puffa; I'm from America, and I will be working at the Docks and on Edward's line" Puffa explained.

Just then a steam shovel came up to them.

"Oh hello Thomas... want to play a game of what's in my shovel?" It said

"Is it dirt Marion?" Thomas replied

"Yes, it is" she said back. Then she saw the new engine. "Oh, hello there. Are you new around here? my name is Marion."

"Yes I am; my name is Puffa, and I am from America." he said

"America? But that is across the ocean! Engines can't swim; unless... are you a magic engine?"

Puffa was confused "no... I came by boat."

"A magic boat?" Marion asked

Then Puffa whispered to Thomas "can we go please?"

So they said their goodbyes and started making their way to the docks.

"Don't worry about Marion; she's really nice, she can just be a bit... eccentric from time to time." Thomas explained.

At long last, Thomas and Puffa arrived at Brendham Docks.

"Hello Big Mickey, great to see you again." Puffa said to the other crane.

"Hello Puffa; it's great to see you working again."

"After that nasty accident you had, I should be the one saying that" Puffa pointed out.

"Ahoy there friend, you know that crane?" A red diesel asked as it came up to him.

"Indeed I do; Big Mickey here used to work at Bigg City until the accident." Puffa replied

"What accident?" A tank engine said as it pulled up.

"Oh, forgive me, I don't think we have been properly introduced yet; I'm Puffa" he said.

"Aargh, and I am Salty, and this is Porter" Salty explained. "Looks like we will be working together from this point on."  
"I'll be all over Edward's line; but something tells me I don't want to spend too much time at the clay pits" Puffa said as the others laughed.

Meanwhile, O.J. Was finally ready for service. It had taken a long time, because all the other tugs and barges needed to be repaired first, but at last he was finished and ready to work.

"Glad to see you out of dry dock at last O.J." Ten Cents said.

"Indeed lad; I haven't felt this good in years; I may have been in drydock for a long time, but it was worth it". O.J. replied.

"Glad to see you are ready O.J. But we need to return to dock; the harbormaster is going to be briefing us on a new assignment" Big Mac informed.

The Star Tugs, Grampus and Billy Shoepack gathered as the harbormaster gave the briefing.

"A new Canal is being built near the Lakeside Wharf, and I have set up so that you will all be helping out. Billy Shoepack, as of tomorrow that will be your permanent workplace, so get to know your surroundings. For this project, you will need to bring Little Ditcher and Scuttlebutt Pete up to the Canal work area and bring them where they needed to go. Some supplies also cannot be sent by rail, so every now and then barges will have to go there too."

The tugs were delighted to have their first major work contract on Sodor "You can count on us sir!" several voices said.

"Good; be sure to get plenty of rest tonight; tomorrow is a big day." The harbormaster said.

With the briefing over, the Harbormaster decided to reveal his last surprise to the Star tugs.

"I am grateful for all that you have done for me over the last several weeks, and I do understand that you are still adjusting to life here on Sodor; but I contacted someone in Bigg City and arranged for a favor. It took a while to restore, but I hope it will help this place feel a little more like home" the harbormaster said.

There was a sign that was covered with a curtain. He signaled the two men standing at either side and the curtain feel. The Star tugs were delighted.

"I can't believe it!" Warrior gasped

"He actually had it brought over!" Sunshine added

"And it looks wonderful my dears" Hercules added.

On one of the buildings of Brendham Docks was the "Star Tug and Marine" sign that once hung on Captain Star's office. It's restored Colors were as vibrant as they were back in the 1920s.

"As I recall, it was in quite the state of disrepair when we were rescued" Top Hat pointed out.

"Yes it was; but look at it now. Captain Star would be proud" Ten Cents said.

It was a small gift really; but for the Star Tugs, it was little things like this that made the Island of Sodor feel a little more like home.

*Looks like our Tugs friends are really starting to enjoy life on Sodor... but trouble will be brewing soon.

To be continued...


	8. Kipper Kaper

Author's note: Hello everyone; apologies for the long delay, but here is the next chapter of Thomas and the Tugs. Don't forget to favorite and leave a review!

On starry nights, when the moon is full, and the air is still,  
you can hear the sounds of faraway ships and distant laughter,  
they echo over the hills, and through the valley,  
down calm canals, and sleepy inlets,  
every engine knows these are the sounds that say the harbor is hard at work at the big station by the sea.

During the early years, the Flying Kipper was a simple train that took local fish to the more populated areas of the island. However, due to a huge amount of over-fishing along Sodor's coasts, the fishing industry took a heavy blow, causing the decrease of operations. This led to the retirement of the Flying Kipper itself, and the importing of fish happened through goods trains from the Mainland. But in recent years, the fish population received a sudden boom, causing fishing to become a rather successful business, so the Flying Kipper returned, but on a much grander scale. Now Arthur, a tank engine who works along the Norramby Branchline, takes a perhaps "Mini Kipper", from Norramby to other areas along Sodor's East coast, before meeting up with the real Flying Kipper at Brendam Docks. There the man train of ocean fish, the regular Flying Kipper, joins up with the coastal fish, the Mini Kipper, to be pulled by Henry to be taken along the West coast of Sodor, and it all has to be done by morning. Luckily for Henry and Arthur, they have Salty and Porter to help, along with the new addition Puffa, which helping shunt the Flying Kipper is his first big job. Now since the Harbormaster recently acquired the Star Tugs, they now help move the fishing vessels in and out of the docks quickly so more fish can be unloaded along the limited dockside space. Three of these tugs, Big Mac, Warrior, and Sunshine, have been tasked with doing this duty for the time being.

"Ah Warrior, watch out when you're moving those ships, you don't want to an open spaces blocked", said Big Mac cautiously.

"Sorry Big Mac, all these big fishing trawlers are nothing like the ships we're used to work with in the past", replied Warrior.

"Aye, I agree Warrior, it's more like working with logs then barges", responded Big Mac, "Sunshine could you make sure to directing the smaller crafts from getting trapped by the bigger crafts".

"Aye Big Mac, it's just I'm having a hard time moving around with these big ships, I feel I'll get stuck instead of the ships I'm supposed to direct. Why I'm I helping gain", Sunshine asked

"Because Sunshine your small size could be useful in an emergency, plus Ten Cents, OJ, and Top Hat are working on the night shift for the canal project and Hercules is waiting to guide the Roxstar into port. But anyways, be careful, I don't want you to end up stuck like the time you were trapped in that log jam", Big Mac replied concerned.

"Alright I'll be careful and try my hardest, by the way where's Warrior?", Sunshine said worried.

"Oh no, Warrior!", shouted Big Mac as he looked over to see caught in between a standstill with a departing trawlers.

"Tugboat tell this idiot to get outta the way!", one trawler shouted.

"No way, tell this imbecile I was leaving first", shouted the other.

"I think one of you should just get going and the first be in front should leave first", replied Warrior as the two trawlers raced against each other and rammed into the other while trying to pull ahead.

"Ouch!", they both yelled.

"Eh... Oops".

Meanwhile Salty and Porter were teaching Puffa how to shunt the Flying Kipper.

"Now the Flying Kipper is a very important train Puffa; it delivers fish all over the island, and sometimes goes to the mainland. It departs at 5:00 on the dot every night, so make sure all the trucks are in line on that track by then" Salty was indicating a section of track that was empty at the moment.

"Got it Salty" and Puffa went to back down onto some regular trucks.

"No Puffa! The Kipper does not use regular trucks, that's a health hazard. The fish are transported in refrigerated boxcars, like these" Salty said as he backed a brakevan and the first 4 boxcars down onto the track.

"Oops, sorry about that"

"Arrg matey, nothing to worry about, it's your first night after all" Salty assured.

"Oh, so are those boxcars over there refrigerated?" Puffa asked, indicating some boxcars in a siding.

"Good job Puffa, you're learning already" Porter said, who was bringing another 4 boxcars down onto the train. Workmen were beginning to prepare boxes for the fish that were due in shortly.

"Better get a move on Puffa; we need at least one track cleared for Arthur." Porter said.

"Who's Arthur?" a confused Puffa asked.

"Well he runs the Norramby Branch and brings coastal fish to be attached to the train of ocean fish. There's so much fish to be delivered now, he drops off some of it himself along the way.", said Salty

"Yeah we joke and call his train the Mini-Kipper", Porter replied as he and Salty let out a chuckle. As Puffa was clearing a line for Arthur, he wasn't watching where he was shunting and left part of the brakevan on one of the points connecting Arthur's line to his. Now Arthur couldn't really see in the dark with his limited light from his front lantern and as he steamed into the docks at a high speed, he rammed into the brakevan and caused it to be knocked off the line.

"Oh no mates!", Salty shouted, the brakevan Arthur had hit backside was derailed.

"What should we do?", Porter asked, "That was the only available brakevan"

The dock manager came up and said, "There's no time to get another, the cranes are to busy unloading the ships, and Henry will be here shortly, I guess one of you engines will have to act as a brakevan for the time being"

"Who then?", asked Salty," Arrg, Porter and I have to stay and finish other duties here at the docks"

"And I can't do it because the collision damaged my front", replied Arthur

"Then the only engine available is Puffa...", Porter responded

"Me?"

Meanwhile the trio of Tugs were making good process on moving the last of the ships

"Alright Lads almost done, let's hurry the sun's almost up and we have more work to do in the morning", replied Big Mac

"Okay Big Mac, I promise I won't cause anymore trouble", replied Warrior

"Right Warrior, less accidents, the more people will be able to get their fish on time"

During this, Sunshine was carefully maneuvering around the big trawlers quickly and skillfully.

He was doing fine until an impatient trawler yelled, Outta my way!", and knocked him into where a large tramper was getting ready to dock.

"Ow!", Sunshine yelled

The tramper couldn't see him, which Big Mac saw and shouted, "Sunshine move, your in his blind spot, get out of the way or you'll be crushed!"

Sunshine tried to move but realized his engine was damaged and wouldn't start. Big Mac noticed this and yelled, "Hold on I'll be right there", but before he could get to sunshine he was blocked in by exiting trawlers. "Warrior do something!", was all Big Mac could say as he frantically panicked for his friend.

Warrior raced towards Sunshine and saw there was little time left as the tramper was closing the gap, so he hit Sunshine with a loud crashed and he himself got crushed against the key by the tramper with a loud scraping noise. Men on the tramper saw this frantically tried to pull away from the key.

They successfully moved away, when Big Mac got to Warrior and said, "Warrior why did you act so rashly?"

Warrior responded, "Because Big Mac I felt responsible for the problem I caused earlier and I was just trying to save my friend"

Big Mac replied, "Warrior no one blames you for the incident before, you just didn't make the right decision, everyone does that from time to time, even me, so lets get you out of here, I'll tow the two of you to a open dock for the time being, and morning i'll take you to dry dock once the port is cleared up. Sounds good?"

Sunshine and Warrior replied, "Good for us!"

So the two were left tied to an old dock, and Big Mac left to get back to work. Sunshine then said to Warrior, "Thanks Warrior, I would be in much worse condition if you hadn't saved me"

"It's alright Sunshine, we're friends here, and friends look out for one another, right"

"Right!"

Meanwhile on the key-side, Henry had just arrived to see the dockside in a strange predicament.

"What is going on here? Arthur! Are you ok?"

"I'm alright Henry, just a bit battered is all" The tank engine assured.

"I missed my chance to meet you when I was given my initial tour of the island; I never imagined our first meeting would be like this though" Puffa observed.

"You and me both... Puffa, right?" Arthur said.

"Indeed" the Bigg City engine replied.

"Um, it is 4:45, what about the Kipper?" Henry asked.

"Henry, the boxcars are fine, but the brake-van was derailed. Puffa is going to act as your back engine in lieu of a brake-van" Porter explained.

"Are you up to it Puffa?"

"All right, I will do what I can" the Bigg City engine agreed.

The boxcars were loaded, and Henry and Puffa were in position, waiting for the whistle and flag.

"5:00, right Henry?"

"You got it Puffa; any minute now."

The whistle blew, and the two engines took off. "You know Puffa, it is because of the Flying Kipper that I have this shape" Henry told Puffa.

"Really?" Puffa asked, and as they went down the line Henry told Puffa the story of his time as a bad steamer.

Henry and Puffa made good time once they left the docks. They might have cut it close but by the time the sun was rising Henry was dropping off the last of the Flying Kipper's fish. At the last station Puffa was uncoupled and departed back towards Edward's Branch line while Henry returned home to Tidmouth Sheds for a rest. Salty and Porter had the brakevan rescued once a crane was available, and proceeded with their morning shunting while Arthur returned to the Norramby Branch line before the morning's fishermen departed to open waters. As for the Tugs, both Warrior and Sunshine were sent to Dry Dock to be repaired, but now the Harbormaster was shorthanded due to the construction of the canal keeping the Star Tugs occupied, in addition to regular harbor work. What was he going to do, well that's another story. But now comes the end of another perilous story of the train barely anyone takes notice of while they dream of their tomorrow. Yes, this is a story, one of many, of what occurs to make what the railwaymen call the Flying Kipper happen.

The afternoon after the accident, a man walked into the Harbormaster's office.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Yes, I am from the Bigg City Historical Society, and we were hoping that one of your drydocks could be used for a project we have in mind."

"Project?"

"Yes; once we have the money, we would like to restore the ocean liner here to her former glory."

"What do you mean?"

"The Roxstar was originally called the S.S. Vienna, and she was quite beautiful, as you can see in these pictures. She's quite legendary, actually."

The harbormaster was indeed impressed "quite lovely indeed. You'll need to talk to Miss Allcroft though; she owns the liner after all" The harbormaster pointed out. "Other than that, I am in on this project" he added.

"Thank you" and the man left the office.


	9. A New Star for the Fleet

**Author's note: Happy New Year everyone! The Star Tugs have come quite a long way since arriving to Sodor, but after what happened the night before, how will the Star Tugs handle the extra work with Warrior and Sunshine in drydock again? Stay tuned to find out.**

On starry nights when the moon is full, there is more than just fish moved from place to place. There is commotion all over the Island of Sodor.

Along the coast of the island, near the town of Norramby, other familiar Stars were hard at work as well.

However, Top Hat was cross "I do say, why on earth am I here in the dead of night on dredger duty? I have car float duties with Frank and Eddie to the Isle of Mann in the morning!" he grunted.

"Calm down Top Hat, you don't want to get all worked up, dredging in the night can be very dangerous" O.J. warned.

"Yea Top Hat, just be glad that at least the construction company provided lights along the shore so we can see" Ten Cents followed up with.

"And be glad you've got Pete to watch your back; you might end up on dry land if you're not careful; and I should know, that is not a pleasant experience" Billy Shoepack quipped.

"I say, why does everyone always have to pick on me? It seems I am always alone against the world." Top Hat moaned

"Top Hat! Pay attention, will you? I'm the only dredger on this whole island, and I've got a lot of work to do, so don't make me fall behind!" Scuttlebutt Pete said angrily.

"Top Hat, we don't pick on you because we're against you; your attitude just makes you an easy target is all!" Ten Cents said.

"Ten Cents, cut it out, we need to focus on this work. And look out Top Hat! You're getting too close to the shore!" O.J. warned.

"What? Oh no!" Fortunately, Top Hat stopped his engines in time, and only just scraped the wall of the new canal.

Top Hat didn't say much for the rest of the night, and the work went on as scheduled. The next morning, the three Star tugs returned to Brendham Docks. Billy Shoepack would keep working with Scuttlebutt Pete and Little Ditcher for the time being. As Top hat, O.J. and Ten Cents pulled up to their home dock, they were in for quite a shock.

"Good heavens!? What happened here?" O.J. exclaimed. To their surprise, Warrior and Sunshine were back in drydock.

"Sunshine, are you all right?" Ten Cents asked.

"Sorry lads, I had a bit of a slip up last night."

"This time it wasn't my fault! Big Mac can back me up!" Warrior quickly added. Warrior and Sunshine then explained what happened.

"Well, I can tell it wasn't your fault by from what we've seen and heard. But what are we going to do now that we are down two tugs again?" Top Hat observed.

That is when the Harbormaster showed up. "We are somewhat lucky; the next two days are going to be quiet, and Shoepack has the canal project under control for the moment, but you should still expect plenty of work to do around the docks. Don't worry, Hercules should be back soon, so you won't be overworked too much longer."

Just then, from the nearby pier, Grampus spoke up. "I can be of assistance, sir. I may be a submarine, but I am as good as any switcher" he explained "I can handle barges just as easily as Ten Cents or Sunshine" he finished.

The Harbormaster thought it over "I guess we can put you to work on barges; but you can't haul too much, we don't want you to strain yourself; after all you weren't designed to pull barges. You might flood and that would be even worse" he said.

"I can manage, don't worry about me" Grampus assured.

"We still need another tug" Big Mac said.

"I will get on it; as for the rest of you, go about your duties" the harbormaster said. And the Star tugs left to do their work for the day.

The harbormaster then sighed and said to himself "now where am I going to get another tug on such short notice? There's this one port in Canada that might be able to help help... no, that Big Harbor is too busy" he said. So he returned to his office and began brainstorming.

Some time later, The Harbormaster's assistant, John Morgan, came running into the harbormaster's office.

"Mr. Westman! you've got to see this!" John told his boss.

"What is it?" Quincy asked. "It's the Moon Fleet on the mainland; see for yourself!"

He looked over the flyer; to his surprise, it was a big maritime sale on the mainland, and among the goods to be auctioned were a few steam tugs among other naval supplies.

"The Moon Fleet is having financial troubles, so they're selling off some ships; if we can get one that's in good shape, it's what we're looking for" John explained. Without a second thought, the harbormaster took his coat and went to catch a ferry to the mainland.

Several hours later, the harbormaster was on the mainland with his assistant. They were looking over the tugs that had been put up for action. Several tugs were in rough shape, but one caught their eye. A switcher that was surprisingly intact caught their attention. Of the ships up for auction, the two harbor tugs were in rough shape and seemed to be beyond repair. This switcher therefore, showed the most promise.

"What's that one called?" The Harbormaster asked.

"Mary, if I'm reading the name plate right" the assistant said, trying to make out the name from the faded paint.

Looking it over, the Harbormaster went to the man who would be performing the auction later.

"Excuse me sir; that tug, over there. How's the condition on her?" Harbormaster Westman asked

"Oh, Mary? She's solid, I assure you. And her engine is just fine. In fact, don't let the peeling paint deceive you; you could sail her right out of the harbor if you wanted to. Really, just give her some fresh paint and clean her up, and she's good as new."

"I see. Tell me, what kind of people usually come to these auctions?" Westman inquired.

"Well, older vessels like these, 90 percent of the buyers will be scrapyard dealers, looking to pick them up cheap for an easy buck or two. But we do get the occasional sailor willing to put up extra money to get it back in service."

"Interesting... how much do you anticipate Mary to fetch?"

"In her shape, I would expect the scrappers to offer anywhere from 7 to 8 thousand pounds" the auction man explained.

"Good to know... I will consider betting; thank you" ad the harbormaster walked back to his assistant.

"Ok, he said scrappers will offer as much as 8 thousand pounds for her. I say we aim for 14 thousand. Most of the guys here are scrappers, so at that point there should be few, if any willing to bet more" the harbormaster said.

The assistant nodded, and the harbormaster prepared for the auction; with luck, they would have another tug in their fleet to make up for the accidents the previous day.

Not to far away, two men in familiar pinstripe suits were talking to each other.

"The boss said he wanted to increase that fleet of tugboats he has on that backwater island off the coast, but I can't believe we have to go to an auction..." said the one in blue.

"I know, but he wanted to keep the fleet all the same and wanted more steam tugboats, which are harder to find now..." replied the one in gray.

"Though it's especially hard finding ones with Z as the first letter..."

"Well at least two fleets were going out of business at the same time, so there's more tugboats than usual at these sort of things."

"Now what types of tugboats did he want again?" asked the one in blue

"He said he required an Ocean-going Tug, a Railway Tug, and another Switcher.." replied the one in gray, "anyways, let's get ready for the bidding war..."

At the end of the pier, two tugboats in bowler hats were discussing among themselves.

"My my, what good quality scrap they have..." said the one with a square glasses.

"Remember, we're only here to look and rest up before proceeding to that island we were assigned to..." replied the one with round glasses.

"I know, but seeing this very fine scrap metal gives me high hopes for our new assignment..."

"Not all of these ships are scrap... yet... but if we had the funds, I would gladly purchase a ship or two to make a good impression, but we're in a rush, stop window shopping and let's go."

"Alright." and the two raised anchor and were on there way to a different destination.

A while later, the auction was under way. A few tugs in poor condition sold for between 5 and 6 thousand pounds each. Then they came to Mary. Bidding was slow, and reach 7,000 pounds, when suddenly a shock to the crowd.

"14,000 pounds!" a voice screamed. It was Harbormaster Westman. The scrappers couldn't make a profit at that price, and backed off.

"Going once...going twice... sold! To the gentleman from Sodor." the auctioneer declared.

After a exhausting bidding war, Quincy was finally able to walk away with a new star.

"Hello Mary; my name is Quincy Westman, and you'll be coming with me. I'll fix you up and make you feel good as new."

Mary the switcher smiled for the first time in years.

As Mary sailed to Brendham Docks, the men in the pinstripe suits began looking over tugs that they could purchase to use.

At the end of a long day, the Star Tugs and harbor engines had settled in for the night; Brendam Docks was quiet. However, on one pier a couple men stood. One was the owner of the Sodor Ironworks, the other the manager. They stood there waiting, until a pair of Tugs showed up.

"It's about time you got here." The manager said

"Sorry; it took longer to be unloaded than expected; fortunately, we've been well taken care off, so we won't need any time in dry dock" one of the tugs said.

"Good. Now you two are a rather significant investment, but I understand that you have a lot of experience with scrap." the owner inquired.

"Yes indeed."

"We've been in the scrap business for decades."

"Then you will be most helpful. can you start tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Well then, Welcome to Sodor... Burke and Blair" the owner said before the two men set off into the night. The two tugs settled in for the night at a dock quite a ways off from the Star Tugs.

 **Oh my; another pair from the Bigg City Rogue's gallery has shown up. What is in store for the tugs in the future? Stay tuned to find out.**


	10. Bigg City Reunion

Author's Note: It's taken a few months, but here we are, Chapter 10 of the Thomas the Tank Engine and TUGS crossover. We've seen a lot of the Star Tugs the past few chapters, so here we shift focus, and see other goings-on around Sodor. But not all is positive, for it seems that the pinstripe suit men are up to no good. What's going to happen here? We'll have to wait and see.

The next morning, Burke and Blair quietly slipped away, so the Star Tugs never noticed them. However, they did notice a new female tug in port.

"Huh? Harbormaster, what is this? Who is she?" Ten Cents asked.

"Everyone, I have brought in a new tug to help out around here. This is Mary, and she will be joining your fleet." The harbormaster said.

"That's a relief, we'll need all the help we can get." O.J. replied.

"You'll be a fine addition m'dear" Hercules said.

"Well hello Miss Mary, it's a pleasure meeting you" said Sunshine from his drydock.

"You'll be a fine addition to the fleet Miss... Anyway, come on lads, quit gawking, and get to work..." Big Mac said.

"Aye Big Mac..." replied the rest of the Tugs as they went to work while Top Hat woke up.

"I say, did I miss something?" He asked; but the Harbormaster told him to wake up and get Frank and Eddie.

Meanwhile, over at the Search and Rescue Center, Samuel the Fire Tug was being introduced to those who worked there.

"I'll be based out of Brendham Docks for practical reasons; but it is good to meet the lot of you" Samuel said to Harold, Flynn, Belle, Butch, Rocky and Captain.

"Good to meet you too Samuel; what brings you up this way?" Harold asked.

"Harbormaster had some fire barges ordered for me; but they got delivered here by mistake. I'm here to pick them up and take them to Brendham Docks" the fire tug explained.

Several hours later, Samuel had returned and checked in with the Harbormaster. "Glad to have some fire barges to work with again; the only tugs around here that have water cannons are me and Warrior, and with Warrior drydocked I'll need all the help I can get" Samuel said to the Harbormaster. The fire barges were specially designed for maximum fire fighting capability. In addition to the main water turrets on the barges, there were a series of secondary spigots hoses could be attached to in the event more water was needed. "They will make a most valuable asset" Samuel said to himself.

"Well, with luck; we won't have to worry about any fires breaking out" the Harbormaster said.

The hope was short lived though, as suddenly the alarm went off. A nearby worker ran over.

"Distress signal just came in! There's a tramper on fire about 4 miles off the coast! Captain is on his way to pick up the crew but we need the fire tug now!" he shouted.

Samuel's face gained a stern expression. "I'm on my way!" He said as he took his fire barges. Off in the distance he could see a tall column of smoke rising into the atmosphere.

"Well, what a way to get back on duty" Samuel said to himself. "I just hope I can handle this on my own, since I don't see any Stars around" he added; the others were off doing jobs, so as far as Samuel knew it would be only him to respond.

A few minutes later Samuel approached the burning tramper. He could see in the water there were four life rafts, but one was overturned. Several survivors had managed to get aboard the three life rafts, and a couple of the tramper's crewmen had managed to get on the overturned one, but there were also several swimmers desperately trying to get aboard any of the life rafts.

"Darn it; where's that fellow...Captain? I'd better get started." Samuel said to himself; he wasn't designed to rescue swimmers, so there was nothing he could do.

Samuel swung his barges into position as Samuel's firefighting crew boarded them. "Go men go! We need to get those turrets up now!" one of the commanders said.

"I don't have another tug to help me right now; but I'll do my best to keep both barges secure!" Samuel told his crew. Normally, he would get behind one barge, and keep it secure while facing the fire. But here, he had to get sort of between the barges and attempt to keep them secure from their sides. It was not an easy task.

As Samuel began fighting the fire he heard someone shout, "Full steam Ahead!" and then saw Captain arrive on the scene as fast as possible. Captain floated towards the people swimming in the water, and his crew threw a few life preservers on ropes to pull the people towards him. "I'm here to help! Grab the life preservers, and you in the life rafts, row towards me!" he called out. In a matter of minutes, all the swimmers had been rescued, and Captain had picked up those in the rafts.

Once all of the tramper's crew were safely on board, he noticed Samuel was struggling to keep both of the barges in place to fight the fire.

Captain shouted, "Don't worry, I'll help you out!" as he sped towards Samuel.

"Stay back, the fire's too dangerous!" Samuel shouted in return.

"I may be a lifeboat, but I also work for the coast guard and have helped put out fires like this before, I can help in these types of situations." he replied as a member of his crew threw a towline to attach to one of the barges. Soon, Samuel was behind one barge and Captain behind the other.

The two ships fought on for what felt like hours, and all hands helped work the hoses and turrets on the barges, but they still needed more water to throw on the fire. So members of Captain's crew picked up hoses on the barges and proceeded to help the firemen. One of the survivors then stood up "Come on boys; don't just sit there; let's give them a hand!" he told his crew mates. Any of the survivors who agreed willingly joined the fight and picked up more hoses. After an hour the fire was finally out.

"Phew... It could have been dangerous if it had spread to the fuel tank." Samuel said.

"Yeah then we could never have stopped it... It was great to have help putting these fires out for once." replied Captain.

"You're very reliable, I wouldn't mind working with you again." Samuel added.

"Me neither." and they both laughed before returning to the docks with the rescued sailors.

(earlier that day)

Another morning dawned over Arlesdale Harbor. The men in the pinstripe suits hadn't "left a package" that morning, which meant luckily for Sailor John and his Z-stacks, no contraband today.

"Looks like a chance to make real money today; like the guy said, gotta cover the tracks" Sailor John said.

Half an hour later, Sailor John was on his dock, with the Z-stacks waiting for tasks.

"All right you lot, listen up, here's your tasks for this morning. There are two trampers that need to go out today. Zak, you'll handle one, Zebedee, you'll handle the other. There's a couple barges of machine parts that need to be delivered to Tidmouth harbor; Zip and Zug, you'll handle those." Sailor John said as he went down the list.

"And what about me, captain?" Zorran asked. Sailor John looked through his contracts.

"Zorran, there is a shipment of bricks that need to go to Tidmouth harbor; get them there by noon and they'll pay an extra 30%" Sailor John said as he looked over the contract.

"On my way captain." Zorran said as he left to pick up his load.

"I'm actually glad I didn't have a "special" today; at least regular contracts offer more good money that I can use to pay off the debts" Sailor John said to himself. Though specials were worth more money, his cuts were not that big and after paying necessary expenses, there was hardly any left over to pay of Captain Zero's debts. Regular contracts, on the other hand, were strictly Sailor John's, so while not worth as much, he would get more money for himself, including money that could be used to pay off the debts.

"The sooner I pay of these debts, the sooner I can stop it with specials; those loads are way too risky" he said to himself as he went back to his office.

A few hours later at Tidmouth Harbor, Zorran, Zip and Zug has just finished bringing in their loads.

"Well well well, look at the time, it's 11:40; we beat the deadline, so we've earned the extra 30%" Zorran told the foreman at the dock. As the foreman was handing over the money to the captain of Zorran's crew, Zip and Zug were getting the pay from their contracts too, when Zip noticed something.

"Zug, look over there... do you see what I see?" Zip said.

"See what?" Zug asked.

"That tugboat, over there. Doesn't it seem familiar?" Zip said. Off in the distance, they could see a paddlewheel boat having come in with a load of crated goods.

"My helmsman was talking about a paddler called Lakesider III, maybe that's him" Zug said.

But just then another tug came into view... a harbor tug pulling a garbage barge.

"I'm no Warrior Lord Stinker, but I think I'm doing a good job with you" Big Mac said as he came into the harbor.

"Don't worry Big Mac, you're doing fine. Isn't he O.J.?"

"Indeed. The others are quite busy; let's finish up here and go help them" O.J. said.

Zip and Zug heard everything. "It's them! The Star Tugs are here!" Zip said.

"We'd better go tell Zorran" Zug replied.

A couple minutes later, Zip and Zug had sped to the dock where Zorran was.

"What's up with you two?" He asked them.

"Zorran, you're not going to believe who is here; look at the other side of the Harbor!" Zug said.

"Eh? What are you two getting at... wait a minute, is that O.J. and Big Mac!?" He said, surprised.

"Yes, and they mentioned "the others" so the rest must be here too" Zip added.

"Well, this is interesting; so all seven of them did make it through after all" Zorran said. He looked over to the nearby dock worker.

"Excuse me; the Star Tugs, where are they based out of?" Zorran asked.

"Brendham Docks, in the south of the Island" the worker said.

"Thanks" Zorran said. "All right you two; let's get back to our dock; once Zak and Zebedee get back I think it's time we pay our old friends a visit" Zorran said to them.

A while later Zorran, Zip and Zug had returned to Arlesdale Harbor. "We're back Captain; what now?" Zorran asked.

"Captain; Zug and I didn't get a chance to load up on coal yesterday; our bunkers are running low" Zip said.

"Very well; you two go and refuel" Sailor John said. "As for you Zorran, got another job lined up for you" Sailor John said.

"What is it captain?" Zorran asked.

"You'll be taking a special" said a voice. Sailor John turned around to see one of the men in the Pinstripe suits.

"Oh, Oh! Good afternoon sir; I wasn't expecting a special today... there wasn't a package this morning" Sailor John said, surprised.

Then the Main in the Red Pinstripe Suit, who John could only assume was the man assigned to be in charge of the operation he was to be a part of, came up to him and said, "Yes Mister Zero, I need one of your tugboats to move a very special barge full of "supplies" we need stored at a munitions warehouse our employer currently operates. The quicker it's done, the higher the pay will be this time. The barge is currently at a dock close to the Brenner's Barque, the pirate ship you "commandeered" awhile back... Also I could have sent a messenger, but due to everyone being out on other "Jobs", I had to come in their stead."

Sailor John replied, "Yes sir, I'll get one of my tugboats on it right away, Zorran get your lazy hull over here and fetch this very important barge for this very special client."

"I"m on my way Captain; I'll be back in a jiffy." replied Zorran, who, like the other Zeroes, had seen what the Pinstripe Men were capable of to previous owners they had worked under for the pinstripes' "Operations", and were always happy to oblige their every need.

"Well I'll be off then, it seems I have business elsewhere.." said the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit, as he walked back to the harbor town.

"Thank goodness he's gone.." said Sailor John to his now alone self as he walked back to his office relieved, and worried for his Tugboat.

But back down the dock towards the man in the Red Pinstripe Suit, he received a call and replied, "Yes it is in the process of being delivered as we speak, all we need now is that Tramper to come in, and we can begin the second phase of our operation; but right now I have some unfinished business with the owner of Sodor Ironworks...", and he disappeared into the bustling harbor town.

Meanwhile over on the Ffarquhar Branch, Thomas and Percy were talking at a station.

"Puffa told me about the Star Tugs Percy; they sound like nice tug boats" Thomas said.

"They do indeed; I hope I get a chance to meet them" Percy replied.

"Well, I finished with my passenger runs for now, and I need to get to the quarry... there's a load of stone that needs to go to Brendham Docks" Thomas said.

"See you later!" said Percy as Thomas puffed away.

An hour later, Thomas had arrived at Ffarquhar Quarry.

"I wish I was not so busy that day Thomas; I would have liked to meet Puffa" Mavis said as she shunted Thomas' trucks into place.

"Don't worry; you still take an occasional train to the docks, don't you? You will get a chance soon" Thomas assured.

Thomas would've liked to keep the conversation going, but the stone needed to get to the docks by 4, so he had to leave now.

"I'd better go Mavis; this stone is due out very soon" he said as he set off.

The journey went rather smoothly for Thomas; and he made good time on his way to Brendham docks.

"Hello Puffa, Salty; where do you want these cars?" Thomas asked.

"Ahoy Thomas, right there is fine; Big Mickey will take it from there" Salty called out.

"Good to see you again Thomas" Puffa called as he continued shunting.

Thomas had just finished dropping off his load of stone in the designated spot when he saw the Star Tugs docked nearby. Thomas had about 20 minutes before he was due to depart again, so he decided to properly introduce himself to these new faces.

"Hello Star Tugs, my name is Thomas. Puffa has told me all about you, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello Thomas" the star tugs replied.

"I'm Ten Cents, and I see you're number one, like me" as they both chuckled.

"And I am Top Hat, the most grand of the Star Tugs" he boasted rather proudly.

"Oh, put a sock in it Top Hat, or we'll ask the Harbormaster to put you on dredger duty with Scuttlebutt." one of the harbor tugs retorted.

"Me?! Dredger duty!? Well I never!" Top Hat said indignantly.

"Don't mind him Thomas, he's always like that. Anyway, I'm Big Mac" he said to Thomas.

"Don't worry Big Mac, compared to Spencer, Top Hat here is quite meek."

"Spencer?! Who is this Spencer you speak of!? There is no way he is grander than me!" Top Hat shot back. The others ignored him and looked at Thomas.

"I'm Hercules, it's a pleasure to meet you m'dear" the biggest tug said politely.

"I'm Grampus, the submarine of the Star Fleet; but I'm as good as any Switcher, believe you me."

"I'm Sunshine, and I am actually a Switcher" he said in reply to Grampus' comment.

"I'm Warrior, and I do the garbage duty"

"If the dump wasn't landlocked, you would get along splendidly with Whiff and Scruff" Thomas pointed out.

"I hope they come here one day then" Warrior replied.

"And I am O.J. the paddle tug"

"By any chance, do you have a brother named Lakesider III?" Thomas asked

"What's a Lakesider III?" O.J. asked, confused.

"Nevermind" replied Thomas. "So, how are you liking Sodor?"

"It's no Bigg City, but having some of our other friends around does make this place feel a little more like home." Ten Cents replied.

"Maybe so, but there are some faces I would rather not see again" Top Hat replied. The others agreed with him for once.

"Indeed; you know that old tramp steamer, Johnny Cuba? No one's seen him in decades, and quite frankly, good riddance" Big Mac stated.

"Aye, Aye. And Burke and Blair, glad those two aren't around" Sunshine added, referring to the scrap tugs.

"Good riddance to old dirt bucket too" Ten Cents added.

"Old dirt bucket?" Thomas asked, confused

"A nickname for a freighter called the Nantucket; nearly got me quarantined he did" Ten Cents explained.

"And no Z-Stacks too" Sunshine added on.

"Who are the Z-Stacks?" Thomas asked

"They were our competition back in Bigg City. That blasted Captain Zero and his Tugs, always willing to take on bigger risks just to make more money" O.J. explained.

"Yea, but things never really worked out for them. Lets see, there was the time they destroyed the bridge over the Canal..." Top Hat remembered.

"And the time they nearly had me cause an accident with the Duchess" Sunshine added

"And the time they made me take on too much stone" Big Mac pointed out

"And let's not forget the time when I was nearly crushed when they refused to help me with Izzy Gomez!" Ten Cents stated.

"These Z-Stacks don't sound like good tugs" Thomas observed.

O.J. was the first to reply "Yea, but Captain Zero sold them for Scrap when he went broke, so we're never going to see them..."

"Suffren Stacks! Look over there!" Warrior said in shock. The star tugs and Thomas looked over to see five black and maroon tugs sailing towards them.

"Well well well, what's the matter Star Tugs? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Zorran said as the five tugs came to a stop.

-This moment has been a long time coming. What will happen when the Star Tugs and Z-Stacks interact for the first time in decades? Find out in the next chapter.

Thanks for all the views everyone, this has been a fun story to write. Special thanks to my friends over at the various Thomas forums that are helping me write this. Don't forget to favorite and leave a review!


	11. Bigger City Reunion

**Hello everyone. I do sincerely apologize for the prolonged delay of this chapter, but I have been very busy with college these past few months, coupled with a creative slump I entered. I have some things planned, and I know how the story will end, but there is a bunch of stuff in the middle I don't have figured out yet. I hope you will forgive me for this unfortunate delay. But anyway, I'm glad to see that people are reading this story, and are enjoying this crossover of David Mitton's two great shows. And now, the continuation of Thomas and the Tugs.**

The Star Tugs could not believe it; there were the Z-stacks, sailing right for them.

"Well well well, what's the matter star tugs? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Zorran said as the five tugs came to a stop.

"Z-Stacks? But Captain Zero sold you to Burke and Blair!" Sunshine pointed out.

"For your information, it turns out he Burke and Blair merely acted as middlemen, and we were actually sold to various owners around the mainland" Zorran replied.

"I take it these are the Z-Stacks you mentioned?" Thomas asked Ten Cents.

"Quite right Thomas... there's Zorran, Zebedee, Zak, Zip and Zug."

"Zeebee?" Thomas asked, confused.

"No you silly engine, ZeBEdee, what kind of name is Zeebee?" Zebedee asked, slightly offended.

"Back in Bigg City's heyday, us two fleets were in competition; I'm surprised to see they made it after all these years" O.J. informed Thomas.

"And now we'll be competing over contracts on Sodor; just like the old times" Zorran quipped.

"Well you're at a major disadvantage Zorran" Ten Cents pointed out.

"Like what? You have a submarine? We both know Grampus can't do much" Zorran shot back.

"Perhaps; but let's not forget, you're outnumbered 8 to 5 in terms of tugs" Big Mac retorted.

"8? There's only seven of you" Zak said.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know yet. Ah, here she comes now" Warrior said as a new tug came near the star tugs.

A new female tug sailed into the area; she had been in drydock for a couple days for paint and cleaning, and now she was good to go. She was painted in Star Tug colors.

"Say hello to Mary, the Star Fleet's new number 8" Hercules said.

"So not only are you outnumbered, but Hercules here is the only ocean tug on the whole island; he can do things you lot can't" Sunshine pointed out. Indeed, Hercules was the only tug capable of sailing out to meet ocean liners like The Roxstar, among other tasks.

"Quite; and since the Harbormaster arranged for the purchase of Frank and Eddie, who are the only railway barges on this whole island, I will have complete control of the rail barge route connecting Sodor and Mann" Top Hat boasted.

"Face it Zorran, you're 3 harbor tugs and two switchers. We on the other hand, are four harbor tugs, 3 switchers and an ocean tug" Big Mac declared.

"Well technically I'm a railway tug" Top Hat pointed out.

"Which is a subclass of harbor tug" O.J. added.

"Face it Zorran; you're a smaller fleet with a high failure record; no one's going to do business with you." Ten Cents finished with.

Fuming, Zorran shot back "We'll see about that! This is a new home, and a new opportunity; with a clean slate for all of us. Come on Z-stacks, let's get out of here."

"Be careful as you leave; you don't want to run into anything on your way out" Thomas said cheekily.

The Z-stacks ignored the blue tank engine as they sailed out of Brendham Docks. Then, Thomas remembered something. "What did you say the captain's name was? Zero?"

"That's right" Ten Cents said.

"Over at Arlesdale Harbor, there's a new sign that says Zero Marine. I didn't think much of it at the time, but that must be where they're based" Thomas concluded. The Star tugs thought for a second.

"That does explain why we haven't been getting contracts around that area of the island" Sunshine noticed. But they did not have time to talk more, because out came the harbormaster. "Ten Cents, Sunshine, Mary, I've got a job for the lot of you. There's been an increase in the demand for stone and not enough barges to satisfy the demand. There's this beached barge near the Little Western branch line on the beach; your task is to go retrieve it so it can be repaired here at drydock" the harbormaster said.

"Right away captain" Ten Cents said. "Come on you two, let's go" he said to the other switchers.

"Aye" replied Sunshine.

"Of course" Mary replied. The three switchers set off.

A few days later in one of the mainland harbors, a businessman was meeting with the harbormaster there.

"You see that barge with the engine in it?" A man said to a Harbormaster. He was talking about a steam engine that had been sitting there for years.

"The paperwork for that one has been gone for years. I've had no choice but to hold onto it until it is claimed" The Harbormaster said.

"I've found it." The businessman said. The man then showed the Harbormaster the paperwork.

"Seems in order, we will send it to Sodor right away." The Harbormaster said.

Later that night, a thick fog rose, and the tugboat bringing the engine to Sodor was caught in the middle of it. Suddenly, the tugboat came to a stop with a jolt... it had lodged itself on some rocks in shallow water! The tugboat soon saw 2 other tugboats coming towards him. "Please; help me!" The tugboat called out; but the two tugs ignored him, going instead for the barge it was pulling. One got a line on it, the other rammed the chain, separating the barge from the tug. "Hey! What are you doing?" The tugboat said. But it was no good; the tugboat was left there as the other two tugs steamed away with the barge.

"We got him, eh Zeb?" The first one, revealed to be Zak said.

"Yup, now let's see what we have on this barge." The second, Zebedee said. The two got closer to the barge, and saw the steam engine. To their surprise, it was The Goods Engine from Bigg City.

"You're the one that fell off the bridge!" Zak said.

"You're the two that made me fall off the bridge!" The Goods Engine said.

"The only one that is missing is the steel girder" Said Zebedee.

"And Top Hat" Zak said, slightly angered at the thought of the posh tug.

"So, we never learned your name, heck we never saw you until we went to clean up the bridge. So, what is your name?" Zak said.

"To be honest; I never really had one; I've always been referred to as "The Goods Engine" by others" the engine explained.

"Well; you'll need one now. How about Geoffrey?" Zebedee suggested.

"Geoffrey; that will due nicely." Geoffrey said.

"So, you could be useful to us." Zebedee said. "We are trying to take over Sodor's businesses on behalf of our owners, and you could help us."

"By doing what?" Geoffrey said, intrigued.

"If you go to the North Western Railway like planned, once we get everything started you could try to distract everyone so we can safely get from place to place. We will bring you back to Arlesdale Harbor now, then you can go along as normal, but in the back of your mind, remember to if you see suspicious activity, direct everyone as far away from it as possible." Zebedee said. Geoffrey agreed to the arrangement as he was brought back.

"You do look like you could use a new coat of paint though; how long were you sitting somewhere for?" Zak asked.

"A long time... decades probably. Hey, you think I'd look good with a red coat?" Geoffrey asked.

The two tugs didn't reply; not sure of what to say.

Hours later, Zebedee and Zak returned to the other Z stacks, just in time for an announcement.

"I've realized that our fleet of 5 is not enough, and we need to make even grounds with the Star Tugs, so the higher ups have arranged for the purchase of a new tugboat. His name is Zeke, he is an ocean tug and will be joining us in a matter of days." Sailor John said, as the Z-stacks snickered in delight at their fortune.

Over on the Ffarquhar branch line, Thomas had just finished his passenger trains for the day, when Sir Topham Hatt approached him.

"Ah, Thomas, I need you to deliver a train to the Sodor Ironworks" he explained.

"The Sodor Ironworks... do you mean scrap sir?" Thomas asked, nervously.

"Don't worry Thomas, its just some old machine parts. Please be quick Thomas; the sooner you have made the delivery, the sooner you can return to the shed for the night." He assured.

"Yes sir" Thomas replied.

After Thomas collected his train, he made good time and eventually arrived at the Ironworks; The manager was there to greet him."

"You made good time Thomas; just put the trucks into the siding over there and Arry and Bert will take care of the rest" he said.

"I'm on it now" and Thomas proceeded to take his train to the siding. He had a few minutes, so he decided to talk to the Ironworks twins for a bit.

"Hello there Arry and Bert; my train is ready for shunting" Thomas said to them.

"Yea, yea; just get out of our way steamie, or we'll shunt you with the train" Arry sneered.

"Well... have you been to the docks yet? There's new tugboats that work there you know" Thomas said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh yes; we work with them on a regular basis" Bert said

"Indeed; they bring in loads of scrap from Mann, and we take it from the docks to here" Arry added.

"Which ones? Is it Big Mac? Warrior? Ten Cents?" Thomas asked curiously.

"Who? No, there's only two of them, and the Sodor Ironworks owns them both" Bert replied.

"Yes, haven't you seen them? Quite knowledgeable on scrap they are, been in the business for decades" Arry said.

"Scrap?" Thomas said to himself, wondering why scrap tugs sounded familiar. "Say, what are their names?" Thomas asked.

"Burke and Blair" Bert answered.

"So they are here... I've got to let the Stars know when I get the chance" Thomas said to himself. "Well, I'd better go; good night you two" Thomas said as he puffed out of the Ironworks.

Meanwhile, in a separate part of the docks from where the Stars worked, Burke and Blair were getting a briefing from the Ironworks manager.

"And make sure that the barge isn't too heavy... I would rather make a profit off a barge that is 2/3 filled and returned here safely than have a sunken barge I can't profit off of!" The Ironworks owner told Burke and Blair before they departed to pick up a load of scrap from the Island of Mann.

"Of course; we can handle this, right Mr. Burke?"

"Yes indeed Mr. Blair; we have this covered, don't you worry" the scrap tugs assured before sailing out of the harbor. Then, the Sodor Ironworks manager got in his car and went back to the Ironworks. He had only taken a few steps out of his car when he heard the manager's voice.

"Sir, can you come to the office?" The manager called out from one of the nearby buildings.

A couple minutes later, he was talking on the phone

"Hello? Who is this?" The owner asked.

"My name is not important at the moment... but I do have a proposition" the voice on the other end said.

After a few minutes of talking, a bit of shouting, and some threats, the conversation between the two men ended with the Ironworks owner shouting "I will not say it again; no deal! The Sodor Ironworks is not for sale! Do not call this number again!" And the owner hung up angrily.

"Don't answer any calls from that number; we will not do business with this OGPU or whatever it is they are called" he fumed to the manager as he left the office to go home for the day.

Meanwhile, the man in the gray pinstripe suit sighed as he looked to his companion; "He's not selling" he informed.

The Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit replied, "Then we'll just make him sell... Get ready, we're going to Sodor... First stop, Sodor Ironworks..."

 **Oh dear... the men in the pinstripe suits are up to no good again... what is in store for Sodor? New additions to the Z-stacks, the appearance of the Goods Engine (now called Geoffrey... bonus points if you get the reference), and much more. Till next time readers; Don't forget to follow and leave a review!**


	12. Dreaming for a Better Tomorrow

**Hello everyone. I have an important announcement to make. The main story to Thomas and the Tugs has to be postponed for a bit due to one of my co-authors being unavailable for the time being. In the mean time, I will be posting some stories from around Sodor for now, to keep this crossover going. Without further ado, here is chapter 12 of Thomas and the Tugs.**

Now that Big Mickey was talking, Cranky did not really know what to make of the situation. On the one hand, Big Mickey had been at Brendham docks long before him, but on the other hand, in the time Cranky had been there it was only when the Star Tugs came that Big Mickey was talking again. He just could not figure out the situation.

One day, there was not a lot of work going on, so Cranky looked over to Big Mickey to try and talk to him... but he wasn't quite sure where to look.

"Hey, Big Mickey, I was wondering... uh, can you... see me?" Cranky said nervously... now that he thought about it, Big Mickey didn't have a face, so he wasn't sure where to look.

"Of course I can! You're not that far away you know!" Big Mickey called out.

"Well, it's just that... you don't have a face like most of us, and I'm not sure where I am supposed to look when I talk to you."

"Don't worry Cranky, I don't mind. I can hear you just fine, and that's what is important" he explained.

Cranky thought it over, but suddenly a ship came in.

"We'll have to talk later Cranky... back to work!" Big Mickey called out as he went to turn his attention to the tramper.

Cranky just sighed, then he remembered something Big Mickey said the day the tugs came... about being "rescued from the sea and reassembled on a strange land."

"What does that even mean?" Cranky asked himself before his attention was redirected.

That night, no ships were scheduled to come in, so for Cranky, that meant a rare opportunity to sleep.

Big Mickey was sleeping too. He did so more often than Cranky, since Cranky more or less served as the "primary" crane for Brendham.

Suddenly, Big Mickey was awakened by a sound. It sounded like a distant boom.

"Huh? What was that?" He asked himself. Suddenly he heard it again. And again. Every time the boom became louder.

"Who is that? Are you setting off munitions!?" Big Mickey asked, scared. He hadn't dealt with munitions since that day all those years ago. Then he saw a ship sail towards him... an old naval tramper.

"Hey! You're coming in too fast! There's no ships coming in tonight!" He called out. But the ship came to a stop just a few yards off the dock Big Mickey was on. The boom's Big Mickey heard suddenly stopped. Until.

"BOOOOMMMM!" The loudest of them all; and to Big Mickey's horror, everything was on fire!

"No! Fire! Fire! Call the fire tug!" He screamed But no one was there. Then, by the light of the fire, he saw the ships name and was terrified.

"The Kraka Toa!? But how!?" He screamed. Then it happened, one more boom, and Big Mickey suddenly found himself falling into the sea!

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!" Big Mickey screamed.

But just as he hit the water... silence and darkness.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Big Mickey continued screaming, not aware that he was now awake. Cranky suddenly woke up too.

"What the?! Big Mickey, what gives?" Cranky said angrily.

"Cranky? You're... you're not on fire?" Big Mickey asked. "And where's the Kraka Toa?"

"Kraka Toa? What are you talking about? There's no tramper coming in tonight. And what fire?" Cranky asked.

Big Mickey sighed "it's not the first time it happened... this is the third time this month I've been haunted by my accident."

"accident?" Cranky asked.

"I... I don't like talking about." Big Mickey sighed.

"Well, you woke me up this early in the morning, you might as well tell me."

Big Mickey sighed. "Well, it was back in Bigg City, the late 1920s if I recall correctly. I was doing a contract with the United States Navy. A Tramper had been brought in from up the coast, and I was assigned to load it." He said.

"It was the Kraka Toa, wasn't it?" Cranky asked.

"Yes. I was told it was munitions to be loaded, so I had to be extra careful. I shocked to find out that fuel was to be loaded too. But, the Navy has an "orders first, common sense later" attitude, so I had no choice but to stick with it. When night fell, I was almost done. Kraka Toa was just about loaded up and done. I only had a couple barges left and I was finished. But then... he showed up."

A Star Tug?" Cranky asked.

"No! Bluenose... that officious naval tug. Always trying to take command, and order others about. Couldn't think straight even if he was ordered too. That night... that night... the nutcase decided to completely ignore the schedule. "Move that barge, my load's fast" he called out. For once, the Z-stacks and Stars agreed on something. O.J. and Zorran both said that barge wasn't gonna move. Then Ten Cents tried to come alongside. But that Bluenose... oh that stubborn fool. His barge and Zorran's rammed right into each other. Next thing we knew the whole barge went up. I began screaming to get everyone to clear the area. But that fool... all he could say was that he was in charge and to stay where we were. The tugs backed up, and most of the sailors did clear the area in time. But the fire... it spread so fast. First it was the barges, then the Kraka Toa, and then my dock."

"Your dock caught fire? How did you survive?" Cranky asked.

"Well, the nearest barge with munitions, the explosions weakened the supports on my dock. I quickly turned away from the tugs, because I knew what was about to happen. It all went so fast. I fell down a few feet, then I tipped forward. My crane operator jumped clear in time, but I was on my own. I fell to my right and sank in the water just was Kraka Toa's load began going up. After that... I blacked out." Big Mickey finished.

"I..I don't know what to say." Cranky said in shock.

"Some months after I was raised, they repaired me and sent me to this place. The company that owned me went bankrupt because their facilities were destroyed in the fire, so I ended up here, and with no one to talk to, I've been silent since." Big Mickey finished his story.

"I'm...I'm sorry I asked." Cranky said sadly to Big Mickey.

"It's fine... Actually, telling someone my fears... My anxieties... Has made me feel a little bit better..." replied Big Mickey

"Well, it doesn't hurt to share your feelings now and again, this may hurt my 'reputation' if the engines found out, but I still have feelings of fear over my own incidents, though they don't compare to anything you've been through..." answered a concerned Cranky.

"What sort of incidents have you been through?" asked Big Mickey, now curious...

"Well when I first arrived, there was an incident with a tramper, an engine shed, and my supports that caused me to fall over on my side, then later that night I fell over again due to an incident with chains putting me back into position, then more recently I almost fell into the sea trying to stop a ship with my very own hook... The point is I've been in more accidents than I can count and those only scratch the surface..." Cranky responded with a chuckle.

"The point being?" Big Mickey asked, still intrigued.

"The point is we all have our fair share of 'incidents' that we wish we could forget, but without these incidents we couldn't become the cranes we are today, so even if it's a horrible experience like the one you went through, think of all the positives that have spawned from it and how learning from it will help you in the future... Remembering the past isn't that harmful, but trying to change it or just not moving on from it brings the worse kind of suffering imaginable, no matter who you are..."Cranky answered sagely.

"You know, for a crane with a 'reputation' such as yours, you really have very wise advice..." replied Big Mickey.

"Of course I do, if those engines just listened to me for once, then I wouldn't be so cranky all the time..." responded Cranky with an annoyed tone.

"I guess you're right..." Big Mickey chipped in as the Crane Duo began to laugh.

The two began telling tales of events that had happened in their careers working at many different harbors, laughing at their many misadventures, and before they knew it, the sun could be seen rising over the sea.

Meanwhile the Dockside Engines, Salty Porter, and Puffa, awoke to the Crane Duo stuck in a conversation, socializing like there was no tomorrow, it was a first for the three engines to see the cranes talk as much as they did right now.

"I don't believe it; do you see what I'm seeing?" Salty asked the other two.

"You mean Big Mickey and Cranky talking to each other?" Porter asked.

"First time I've ever seen Big Mickey talk so much since I came here" Puffa added on.

"Whatever it is they are talking about, they sure are having a good time" Salty observed.

"Good morning you two! You're up early today!" Porter called out. Big Mickey and Cranky looked toward the engines.

"And? There's nothing wrong with that. I was just telling Big Mickey here about all the accidents you engines get into despite my warnings" Cranky said to the three.

"But the next tramper isn't due in for another hour" Puffa called out.

"Well... well... what are you three just sitting around here for? Don't you have work to do?" Cranky asked, trying to redirect the conversation.

"We would but our fire's aren't hot enough yet" Porter explained as Puffa followed up with "indeed."

"And my driver isn't even here yet" Salty said as the three all had a good laugh.

Big Mickey laughed to, and after a little bit, so did Cranky.

Once the ships started coming in, the harbor was as busy as ever. Big Mickey and Cranky had both been through a lot in the past, but now they had a great future to look forward too.

 **Hope you enjoyed this sub-story while we wait to return to the main plot. Don't forget to leave a review, favorite and follow!**


	13. Back In Business

**Hello everyone. It has been a while, hasn't it? Well, the good news is that today, I'm coming back to this with not one, but two new chapters. Starting off this chapter, I'm briefly going back to something I forgot to finish last chapter.**

After the Z-stacks had left, Ten Cents, Sunshine and Mary took off to go get the barge they were ordered to retrieve. As they sailed along Sodor's coast, Sunshine and Ten Cents decided to talk to Mary for a bit, to get to know their new team member.

"So Mary, what was life back on the Mainland?" Ten Cents asked.

"In our heyday, it was quite busy, actually. In our particular area, we were the only major Tug company around, so for a good 20 years or so, competition wasn't something we really worried about. Though after diesel began replacing steam, that was when we had problems. Overtime, we just couldn't compete, so we had to resort to other means to survive. Some of us lasted for a while, but when others broke down, there was no money to repair, so they had to be sold to the breakers." She explained.

"How lucky did you get?" Ten Cents asked.

"Well, we sort of reworked our fleet as a historical society type thing, and we survived giving daily tours to people who loved sailing on steamers. But eventually, the Moon fleet just couldn't survive, and we had to be auctioned off. Luckily I was well maintained, so your harbormaster saved me at the last minute" Mary added.

"Aye; I noticed. All you really needed was some cleaning up when you arrived; I think you only spent two days in drydock" Sunshine recalled.

"Three actually. They had to make sure the hull was solid. fortunately once I was cleaned up it was clear I was good to go" Mary replied.

"That's good; hopefully the harbormaster will see you as a good investment" Ten Cents said.

"I hope so; I'd hate to end up in the breaker's yard" Mary said with a shiver.

"We'll make sure that does not happen" Ten Cents assured.

Some time later, they made it to the beach. There, in the shallow water, was a barge with a black hull and a yellowish pilot house.

"So, you're the tugs taking me to get repaired? Well, I hope you're quick about it, I hate it when things are done too slow" the tug grumbled.

"We've only known him 5 seconds and I already don't like him" Mary grumbled.

"Well, at least he's no Nantucket, eh Sunshine?" Ten Cents quipped.

"Aye; this... Buldstrode fellow better not give us any trouble" Sunshine added.

"Since when do you need 3 tugs for one barge?" Bulstrode complained.

"For your information, Mary here has recently re-entered service and her engines have not been used in years. If something goes wrong, one of us will take of the barge and the other will pull Mary" Ten Cents explained.

"Whatever; just get this over with" Bulstrode replied.

Mary pulled Bulstrode from the bow, while Sunshine had a line attached from the stern. Ten Cents sailed off to the side a bit, keeping an eye on them to make sure nothing went wrong.

"Harbormaster wants us back before sundown; let's make this quick" Ten Cents said.

"Good; the sooner I'm repaired, the sooner I can be rid of you lot; I'll have you know I'm a self-powered barge, so once I am good as new I won't need any of you" Bulstrode boasted.

The Tugs were rather ticked off at Bulstrode now, but decided it was best to ignore him from now on.

...

It had been several hours, but at last the three Tugs brought Bulstrode in and put him into drydock.

"About time; can't wait to be under my own power again" Bulstrode boasted. The three tugs simply looked away and headed back to the harbormaster's office. Once docked, Ten Cents called out.

"All right sir, we've got that barge you requested; he's in drydock now" Ten Cents called out.

"Good. Now how did Mary fair?" The harbormaster called out.

"No complaints sir; every feels fine to me" Mary replied.

"Excellent. No go top off your coal bunkers then head back here. I think there will be some contracts coming in so I want you lot to be on standby" the harbormaster said.

"Right away sir" Sunshine said as the three set off.

"Quite Frankly, I'm glad that barge is self powered; that Bulstrode is so stuck up" Ten Cents said.

"Aye; maybe we should have left him stuck up on the beach then" Sunshine said. The three switchers had a good laugh before heading to get some coal.

...

Over at Arlesdale Harbor, the Z-stacks were thinking about Sailor John's latest announcement.

"A new tug! And an ocean goer to! That'll give em a run for their money" Zak grinned.

"Yea, wait till they see the look on their faces when we have a new ocean tug. Hercules won't seem so tough anymore" Zorran agreed.

"But Zorran, we're still outnumbered" Zip reminded them.

"Yea, even if we match them in ocean tugs, they still have us one upped by a harbor tug and a switcher" Zug added.

"Now now, one hurdle at a time. We mustn't rush. After all good things come to those who wait" Zorran said. "But would it kill the captain to actually do something useful" he added.

At that Moment, Sailor John emerged from his office.

"Say captain, when's that new ocean goer coming?" Zebedee asked.

"Yea, we need to actually be able to compete with the Star mob if we are to make any money" Zorran said.

"I know, I know, but my hands are tied. I can only manage the day to day around here; big decisions like that are for the higher ups, not me" Sailor John explained.

"But we need more tugs to compete with the stars!" Zip said.

"We're making good money around here, but a couple more tugs would really help" Zug added.

"And I agree with what you are saying, but there is nothing I can do" Sailor John said.

"Then take it up with these other guys you are talking about" Zorran practically demanded.

"Have you already forgotten who the higher ups are? It's the men in the Pinstripe suits!" Sailor John said.

The Z-stacks gulped at the word "Oh, them?! Sorry, we must have forgotten" Zebedee quickly said.

"Though... surely they will take a request if we ask politely" Zorran suggested.

"It's not that simple. They have a good deal of leverage over me... I'm not exactly in a position to make requests" Sailor John explained.

"Request what?" A voice asked.

Sailor John turned around to see one of the men in the pinstripe suits. "Oh! Good afternoon sir! I assure you we aren't having problems here. No, I was just explaining to the fleet that there are some decisions that are beyond my control, like new tugs. It's you calling the shots, I only manage the day to day operations" Sailor John was quick to explain.

"Well that's no problem Mr. Zero, actually, we are in the process of acquiring two more Tugs for your fleet, once we heard the amount the Star Fleet had, we could not let our 'investments' be outdone..." answered the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit.

"Since you don't come out here randomly, you must be here for a reason?" asked Sailor John.

"Yes, we have a tramper coming in, and we want a few of your Tugs to go out in the estuary, meet it, and bring it to a warehouse where we currently are storing some munitions..." replied the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit.

"Ah, yes.. I"ll have my Tugs do it right away then..." responded Sailor John

"Good... Oh, and Mr. Zero, your progress on playing your Grandfather's debt is going smoothly, so make sure you don't do anything that would 'upset' us now, got it?" asked the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit.

"Right, you can count on me..." answered Sailor John nervously.

"Alright, then I'll see you later after the tramper docks, good day..." replied the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit as he began walking down the dock...

"Talking to him only gets harder by the day... Anyways, you heard him you lot! Get going!" Sailor John called out.

...

Up the dock, the Man in the Red Pinstripe suit received a very important call...

"Boss, we have everything ready, want us to go in without you?" asked someone on the other end of the line

"No, send someone to come pick me up, we'll try diplomacy one more time before we use force... No matter what, we will own Sodor Ironworks to further our plans..." replied the Man in the Red Pinstripe Suit

"Right Sir, I'll send a car immediately..." responded the man at the other end as he hung up...

"Just a little longer, and then the operations can begin..." smirked the man in the Red Pinstripe Suit as he disappeared down a back alley...

 **And with that, seems the men in the pinstripe suits are onto the next phase of their operation. It is only a matter of time now.**


	14. The Plot Thickens

**Hello everyone. My co-authors and I are still working on the next major plot development, but until then please enjoy this next chapter, which reveals just what happened to some characters that were only mentioned back in chapter three.**

At the docks, Edward was picking up passengers that had just arrived on the S.S. Roxstar. He was not due to depart for another 20 minutes, so he simply sat there and waited. Nearby, O.J. the paddle tug was docked. Deciding he had a few minutes, Edward struck up a conversation with the old Tug.

"Hello there... O.J. is it? I don't think we've properly met yet, but my name's Edward. I work the branch line that Brendham docks is connected to" he introduced.

"Hello Edward, nice to meet you. Yes, my name's O.J. and I'm one of the Star Tugs. Do you usually pick up passengers from here?" O.J. asked.

"Sometimes; I split my duties between passengers and freight" Edward explained. "I presume as a Tugboat, you've worked with ships like Roxstar here?" Edward asked.

"Indeed; in fact I've towed the Roxstar before, back when she was called the Vienna. We worked hard in Bigg City, towing both passenger liners and cargo ships" O.J. explained.

"Sounds like Vienna was quite popular among the Tugs. Were there any other liners you liked working with?" Edward asked.

"Oh, of course. There was the Duchess, for instance. Lovely ship, and served right through the depression in fact. During the war she was converted to a troop transport and played her part right until she was sunk by a U-boat" O.J. explained.

"It is unfortunate, I lost a few friends myself during the war" Edward thought back.

"There was also the Princess Alice. Nice ship, but I tell you, that day her rudder was damaged, and the high winds... it was a miracle nothing worse happened" O.J. thought back.

"What happened to her?" Edward asked.

"Sold for scrap I'm afraid; and the worse part is how it happened" O.J. explained; and he told the story that others had passed onto him back in Bigg City

...

"No! No! You can't scrap me!" A rusty old cargo ship screamed. He was being towed into the breakers yard by a couple tugs.

"Save it Nantucket, your time has come. The least you can do is take it with dignity" One tug said as he was towed into place.

"Besides, your crew has disembarked and you've got no steam; you aren't going anywhere any time soon" said the other.

"Come on Burke; let's see what other ships have been sold" said one tug.

"Of course Mr. Blair, there simply must be other ships available" replied the other as they sailed out of the scrappers yard.

Nantucket found himself anchored beside a couple ships. One was a passenger ship, the other a cargo ship in even worse state than he was.

"Say, I've seen you before... Old Rusty, isn't it?" Nantucket asked.

"Correct. I presume you've been sold for scrap too?" Old Rusty asked.

"Is it that obvious?" Nantucket grumbled. "I've got to get out of here!" He said aloud. Old Rusty simply laughed.

"Oh Nantucket, you may as well accept the facts. We all meet our end eventually, and I have come to accept it. I was abandonded for years before finally being sold for scrap. At least you were able to work until the end" Old Rusty pointed out.

"But I don't want to get scrapped" Nantucket said.

"Neither do I... or Princess Alice for that matter. But look at me, I'm rusted through. My bilge pumps failed years ago, and I'm no longer seaworthy. No, I do not want this fate either, but I have learned to accept it. It is better to face the end with dignity than hide from the inevitable in fear" old Rusty said.

"You seem rather calm about all this" Nantucket observed.

"I am, after all I was a navy tramper. And Princess Alice here, well she's simply decided to remain quiet through it all" he pointed out. Low and behold, the passenger liner was there, next to Old Rusty, and waiting for her turn like the others.

"Oh no! If even Princess Alice isn't safe from the scrappers, then I certainly am not!" Nantucket realized. But at that moment, to their surprise, Burke and Blair had cast their lines on Old Rusty; it was time.

"Change of plans Rusty; seems the breakers are ready for you" Burke said as the final lines were tied.

"Well, enough of my leaks were fixed and enough water pumped out to make me float; all right, I'm ready." Old Rusty declared.

"Thank you for your cooperation, it makes things so much easier" Blair said as he was towed away.

Nantucket and Princess Alice were left with a lot to think about as Old Rusty was towed away.

Not that far away, two tugs witnessed everything.

"Nantucket, Old Rusty, and Princess Alice scrapped? And I thought we had it bad, uncle" one tug said.

"At least we will still be houseboats like that boomer fellow. Come on Sea Rogue, you said you wanted to say farewell to the Star tugs" the older tug said.

"Right; better pass on this news to them" and they left quietly.

...

"And they went on to pass this information onto us" O.J. explained.

Edward was surprised. "Well, we are known for saving many engines from scrap on this island, but I think a ship is a very different story; they are so much bigger" Edward thought.

"Indeed they are; it can be hard to rescue ships from scrap, but there are those willing to put the time and effort in to do so. It's a shame this wasn't the fate for Princess Alice though" O.J. sighed. But then Edward heard the whistle and saw the green flag wave.

"Seems I have to go now; goodbye O.J. Thanks for the story" Edward said as he pulled away.

"Goodbye Edward, thanks for the chat" O.J. replied, as he decided to close his eyes and take a nap.

...

Over at the Ffarquhar Branch line, Thomas had just finished with his passenger duties for the day. He had shunted Annie and Clarabel out of the way, when the yardmaster came up to him. "Thomas, There's some empty trucks that need to go up to Arlesdale. Unfortunately, our usual engine for this kind of train is at the works right now, so you are the only one available. You don't mind, do you Thomas?" He asked.

"Not at all sir; it's been a while since I've been up there, and it will be great to see my friends up there again" Thomas replied.

"Excellent; the trucks are right there... just buffer up to them and we'll take care of the rest" the yardmaster replied.

Some time later, Thomas was coupled up and on his way to Arlesdale. He was telling the truth when he said he wanted to see some of his friends up there... but there was another motive for going up to Arlesdale.

"The Star Tugs and Z-Stacks that day said something about Arlesdale Harbor. I don't know how to describe it, but those Z-stacks sound like trouble to me. I'd better look into this" he said to himself. His driver and fireman, who were also concerned about this, agreed and decided once the trucks had been dropped off, they would take a peak near the Z-stack dock to see what was going on with them.

Thomas had dropped off his trucks and had just been uncoupled when he just as quickly left the yard.

"Ok Thomas, you know that stopping on the line like this will be dangerous... we can only stay for a minute at most before we have to move on" his driver explained.

"Don't worry, this won't take long driver... just a quick look at their dock and we are out of here" Thomas said. They slowed down and came to a stop at a section of track in Arlesdale Harbor that allowed them a view of the Z-Stack dock. "Now what are they up to?" Thomas asked himself. Only a couple Z-stacks were at dock at the moment, thankfully looking away from Thomas, but Thomas could make out a couple figures standing on the dock itself.

"There seems to be... a man in a pinstripe suit, and a man in a sailor's uniform" Thomas' driver observed.

"Yea... but it looks like the one in the suit is giving orders to the one in the sailor uniform; maybe the suited man is a businessman and the sailor is in charge of the fleet's day to day?" The fireman suggested.

"Possibly, but something about that man looks familiar..." Thomas observed. The sailor was very familiar to Thomas... there was just something about him. Then at last, Thomas figured it out.

"Wait a minute... driver, isn't that Sailor John?!" Thomas said in shock.

"What the... you're right Thomas! But, wasn't he put in jail?" his driver recalled.

"Something weird is going on here... and I don't like it at all" Thomas' fireman thought.

"We'd better get out of here... we need to let the Star Tugs know next time we go to Brendham" Thomas whispered as they quietly left. Fortunately, no trains were do through at that point, so there were no whistles to raise attention.

Thomas made his way back to Ffarquhar, he could not help but think to himself "If Sailor John is out here managing a fleet of tugs and he's up to his old tricks... oh dear, I really have to let them know soon" Thomas thought as he left Arlesdale and made his way back to the Ffarquhar line.

...

That evening, the Star fleet had just finished up their jobs, and were back at port.

Most of the fleet had come back to dock, when Top Hat and Hercules finally joined the rest of them.

"Hello Top Hat; how was the Mann run today?" Ten Cents asked.

"Oh, absolutely dreadful! I was shipping these awful freight cars that wouldn't stop calling me names and singing this weird song about a popping diesel! They were oh so troublesome; at least when I ship coaches or flatbeds they don't give me any trouble" Top Hat explained.

"Oh, Edward told me the other day about the "troublesome trucks" as the engines call them. Just pay them no mind Top Hat, at least they can't derail you like an engine" O.J. explained.

"Is that so, m'dear? Well, I just brought in the Roxstar for the last time in a while. She's going into drydock tomorrow; from what I've heard she's undergoing an overhaul" Hercules explained.

"Any word on what they'll be doing to old Vienna there?" Big Mac asked.

"No, not really. My orders are to deliver her there first thing tomorrow morning" Hercules said.

Just then, Sunshine came speeding into the dock. He looked pretty shocked as he tried to get their attention.

"Ten Cents! Big Mac! Everyone! You're not going to believe it!" He said as he came up to the others.

"Calm down Sunshine; what's the matter?" Grampus asked.

"I was just on my way back from that fuel contract when I saw a tramper, just off the coast" Sunshine said.

"And what about it?" O.J. asked.

"Well, I couldn't quite make out its course... But he's from our days in Bigg City." Sunshine said.

"Which one? You know we worked with many..." Top Hat pointed out.

"The one that always gave us problems..." Sunshine began, as the others gasped.

"You don't mean?" Ten Cents asked.

"Well it makes sense... he never was sold to the scrappers" Big Mac thought.

"Beg pardon but, who are you talking about?" A confused Mary asked.

"It seems one of the old troublemakers from Bigg City has returned" O.J. explained.

 **Oh dear, a trouble making tramper? Who could it be? There were a few, after all. Well, that's it for now, see you next time, fellow readers and writers. And please leave a review if you like this story so far.**


	15. Troublesome Trampers

**Hello everyone. It has been a long time, hasn't it? Between how hectic my life has been, and having writer's block for a while, work on the story slowed. But I am happy to at long last share the next chapter with all of you. I was saddened to hear of the passing of John Hurt a few days ago (the voice of Sailor John), and as a tribute to him, my co-authors and I have written a special tribute in this chapter's last scene. Bonus points to those who can determine all of his roles that we reference. And now, on to the story.**

"You sure it's him?" asked Big Mac with Sunshine, he had volunteered to go with Sunshine to check out if his story was true for the rest of the Star Tugs

"Definitely, there's no way it could be anyone else..." replied Sunshine as the two sailed on

Out in the estuary, a lone tramper had their anchor lowered and was now calmly floating upon the ocean's waves, waiting to catch a tailwind to use as a push to keep them on course on their way onto port...

"I hope the rumors were true that this port doesn't need a tow, if it does it better be cheap...

¡Ay Caramba! Are those Tugs? ¿Que pasa? They seem familiar..." said the Tramper as the tugs came closer and closer...

"Well I can't believe it! It's the banana smuggler... Izzy Gomez!" shouted Big Mac as he and Sunshine neared their old 'client' from their Bigg City Port days...

"Gringos! What are you doing here? Aren't you Americanos?" asked Izzy

"Well, we've changed owners and found new work since times were changing, but Izzy, what are you doing back in service?" asked Big Mac

"Yeah, weren't you withdrawn because San Juan Bananas couldn't afford to ship internationally anymore?" whistled Sunshine in confusion

"Well, San Juan did go bankrupt, and I was sold, along with the company, to a bigger banana plantation business... They kept the San Juan name and focused locally for a while, and since they couldn't use me they made me the official logo of San Juan Bananas, at least locally okay, and I became sort of an advertisement in the port. Recently, they decided the brand was ready to go back on the international market, so I've been put back into service, when I went back to the Estados for the first time I was wondering where you Gringos went..." answered Izzy in his familiar sleepy tone...

"Good for you Izzy, glad to hear you've been doing so well for yourself" responded Sunshine

"Yeah, well, it's no big deal..." replied Izzy

"So Izzy, in need of a tow? How does 600 hundred sound?" jabbed Big Mac

"Not even for 6 gringo..."answered Izzy

"I knew you would say that! For old times sake, we'll let you in for free, so toss me a line, the others will probably want to see you anyway, and besides, it seems your bananas will be highly appreciated on Sodor!" laughed Big Mac as the Harbor Tug began to tow the tramper as Sunshine followed next to him...

Out in another part of the estuary, the three Harbor Z-Stacks were going out to meet the Pinstripe Men's contact and tow him into Brendham to their warehouse, inconspicuously...

"So Zorran, do you know where this contact of theirs exactly is?" asked Zebedee

"They gave us the coordinates, but still be on the lookout for Stars, this is close to the major shipping lanes, and if we're not care, we could be spotted..." replied Zorran as the three sailed onward...

Floating very calmly on the estuary's flickering waves, an oily, criminal presence drifted outside, waiting for that fateful tow...

"Oi me mates said those blasted Tugs would of been here by now..." grumbled the tramper

As the tramper soon found his eyes rolling around, looking for a target to solidify on, three strangely familiar boats in a black and white color scheme come closer and closer towards him...

"Crickey! Old Zeroes' Tugboats are still kicking! Ehahaha! Look at you sorry sports, you my tow or what?" asked the tramper as the three harbor Z Stacks were at a loss for words...

Zebedee was the first one to speak...

"Oh... Um... Hello Mr. Cuba Sir... Pleasure seeing you here..." mumbled Zebedee as the three stared blank faced at the infamous gangster tramper, Johnny Cuba

"Well 'Ello Zebbie, Zakkie, and you too Zorran, seems Zero kicked it and left you lot tied up in the mess me and boys have been cooking up, eh? So you come too toe me or what?" asked Johnny beginning to show annoyance

"Oh no sorry Johnny... Eh... Zeb, Zak, throw our client a few tow ropes, we got a special for associates of our employers..." ordered Zorran

"Oh I like the cut of your jib Zorran, you'll definitely go far in this business Mr. Professional..." laughed Johnny

So Zorran led Zak and Zebedee, who both felt very uncomfortable, and their tow Johnny Cuba to the Harbor where he would be hidden, but to distract himself from the situation Zorran tried to make small talk with the infamous gangster...

"So Johnny... how did you... Erm... Manage to hold out during the war?" asked Zorran

"Oh that's easy mate, me and the boys had a few favors owed us so we hid out in Cuba during that whole charade... Had lots of fun down there, they don't call me Johnny Cuba for nothing... Ehahaha... Now shut your trap and make way, I ain't got time for small talk and got business to discuss..." laughed Johnny as the Zeroes remained dreadfully silent, stuck worrying over their criminal accomplice and his loud... demeanor...

Meanwhile, A good distance off the coast of Sodor, a single ship sat idly. Lillie the lightship had been recommissioned by the Brendham Docks harbormaster to act as a "beacon" of sorts, and alert ships to know they were close to the entrance to Brendham Docks. Although Sodor did have Lighthouses, there were none close enough to Brendham to be effective as markers for where the harbor was. Lillie had quite an important job.

It did get lonely from time to time though; given that she was supposed to stay in a single spot meant she couldn't really interact with the others regularly, so it was quiet a lot. Though thankfully, there was one tug that did take the time to visit her as often as possible.

Hercules, the ocean going star tug, was sailing along the southern coast of Sodor when he stopped near Lillie.

"Ah, Lillie, good afternoon m'dear; how are you?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm doing as well as I can Hercules. It gets rather lonely out here all alone, but at least you stop by when you can" she explained.

"It is a shame that you have to be alone this often sweetheart, but you do have a very important job to do" Hercules assured.

"Oh yes, I know- without me heaven knows how the ships would navigate to find Brendham docks at night. I mean, sure, they say that technology has come pretty far since our Bigg City Days, but at the end of the day it is still difficult to navigate in the dark... especially when there is fog" Lillie added.

"No denying that. Have you been doing well since your repairs?" Hercules asked.

"Oh, absolutely! I can't even begin to tell you how good it feels to be working again. I thought I was done for with all the rust that was on me, but those dock workers were outstanding. I haven't felt this good in years" she explained.

"Me as well; after all that time I was on my side it is refreshing to be sailing and upright again m'dear. Have you heard though; another familiar face showed up near the estuary today" Hercules asked.

"Oh yes, I saw him sailing in only a few hours ago; that tramper from Mexico, Izzy Gomez, was it? Up to his old tricks again?" She asked.

"Probably; Big Mac and Sunshine were the ones who went to see him, so I wouldn't be surprised" Hercules replied.

"Even if it is rather lonely out here, it is refreshing to see some familiar faces every now and then" Lillie noted. "Do you know who will be bringing around my fuel later?" she added.

"I believe it's Ten Cents' turn this time around, so don't worry, you are in good hands sweetheart" Hercules assured.

"He is a dependable switcher, isn't he?" She asked.

"He certainly is. Well m'dear I best be off- there's a cargo ship due in soon and I need to go and meet it" Hercules explained.

"Understood Hercules; goodbye for now" Lillie replied. And the ocean tug sailed off, leaving Lille alone once again.

"He's such a courteous tug" Lille thought to herself.

...

Sailor John returned home after a long day at the harbor. With the Zed stacks docked for the night, there would be no business to worry about for now. As he sat down and thought about everything that had happened these past several weeks, he could not help but sigh.

"I suppose this whole thing started because I could not ignore the call of the sea. Grandfather always insisted I follow in his footsteps. But sometimes I wonder- what if I turned away and stayed on land" he thought to himself.

He imagined what could have been. Perhaps he could have been a doctor; helping people through sickness and injury. There were sailors such as himself who would do need help after returning from service; perhaps he could have specialized- helping soldiers and sailors in treating their injuries sustained while on duty.

"Guess you could say I could have been a "war doctor" if I wanted to" he quipped to himself.

He continued to think; perhaps he could have been a historian, researching and learning about the past, to learn how a better future could be made. In his youth he was always fascinated with the Roman Empire.

"It was an interesting era indeed; some of history's best and worst leaders were Roman Emperors. But I always was fascinated with Caligula..." he thought to himself.

Then another thought crossed his mind- perhaps he could have gone to the sea after all, and once he retired he could share his tales with others. It was a nice thought, being a storyteller for the enjoyment of others. Stories of adventure on the high seas never get old, and surely he would have an audience large enough to listen. And yet, he did not pursue this road either.

Though then again, life is rather unpredictable. For all he knew, he could have become a circus performer. He could have become an entertainer for hundreds of people, who came from miles around to see him. Sure, he could not juggle or walk a tightrope, and he did not know any acrobatic moves, but if Joseph Merrick, AKA the elephant man, could become a popular curiosity for the large deformations of his body, then surely there was something Sailor John could do that would attract the interest of people. But alas, this did not happen either.

Perhaps the most unusual thought of all, Sailor John could have become a politician. Something could have happened many years ago that put him down that road. And yet, it was after reading Orwell's 1984 that Sailor John became disgusted with politics, and decided he would have nothing to do with them. The idea that a government could become so controlling and deceptive disgusted him, and he vowed that he would not end up like Winston Smith. His choices would always be that of his own free will. And perhaps, it was that choice that got him here today. He now had a business, and was in charge of his grandfather's fleet of tugs. And yet, he was not able to operate of his own free will- there was the men in the pinstripe suits. His grandfather's debts chained him to them, and they kept a rather close eye on him. Almost as if they had become a big brother, ensuring that Sailor John did what he was told to do.

Perhaps he had more in common with Winston Smith than he had realized. Just then, the phone rang.

"Hello? Oh, hello sir! A special? Tomorrow at noon? Yes, I'll see to it it is delivered on time. Yes, I am aware that there is a lot to do for me to pay off grandfather's debts. I haven't forgotten at all sir. Not a problem, good night sir" and Sailor John hung up the phone.

"Big brother really is watching" he thought to himself.

 **In Memory of John Hurt**


End file.
